WITH  THE 

GAr:j5H    ' 

LEGION 


A  S'fORY 
>F  THE  • 
CAR  LI  ST 

WARS  «  • 


WITH  THE  BRITISH  LEGION 


SETTING    SPURS    TO    THEIR    HORSES    THE    FOUR    MEN    DASHED 

FORWARD     t     .     .     .     .     t     .     .     .     .     .     .     Frontispiece 


WITH 

THE  BKITISH  LEGION 

A  STOEY  OF  THE  CAELIST  WAES 


BY 


G.   A.   HENTY 

Author  of  "With  Roberts  to  Pretoria,"  "Held  Fast  for 
England,"  "Under  Drake's  Flag,"  etc. 


WITH  TEN  FULL-PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS  BY  WAL.  FACET 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS 
1902 


Reg*  of  £ut*v*  v 


COPYBIOHT,  1902,  BT 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


Published  September,  1908 


THE  CAXTON  PRESS 
NEW  YORK. 


A/5-A7 


PREFACE 


The  story  of  the  doings  of  the  British  Legion  under  Sir 
de  Lacy  Evans  in  Spain  is  but  little  known.  It  was  a  failure, 
and  that  from  no  want  of  heroic  courage  on  the  part  of  the 
soldiers,  but  from  the  most  scandalous  neglect  and  ill-treat- 
ment by  the  Government  of  Queen  Christina.  So  gross  was 
this  neglect  that  within  six  months  of  their  arrival  in  the 
Peninsula  nearly  five  thousand,  that  is  to  say  half  the  Legion, 
had  either  died  from  want,  privation,  or  fever  in  the  hospi- 
tals of  Vittoria,  or  were  invalided  home.  The  remainder, 
although  ill-fed,  ill-clothed,  and  with  their  pay  nine  months 
in  arrear,  showed  themselves  worthy  of  the  best  traditions  of 
the  British  army,  and  it  was  only  at  the  end  of  their  two 
years'  engagement  that,  finding  all  attempts  to  obtain  fair 
treatment  from  the  Government  unavailing,  they  took  their 
discharge  and  returned  home. 

The  history  of  their  doings  is  largely  founded  on  a 
pamphlet  by  Alex.  Somerville,  a  man  of  genius  who  enlisted 
in  the  Legion;  and  the  events  subsequent  to  its  disband- 
ment  are  taken  from  the  work  of  Major  Duncan,  one  of  the 
Commissioners  appointed  by  the  British  Government  to  en- 
deavour to  see  that  the  conditions  of  a  convention  entered 
into  by  our  Government  and  the  leaders  of  the  contending 
parties  in  Spain  were  duly  observed — a  convention,  however, 
that  had  very  small  influence  in  checking  the  atrocities  com- 
mitted by  both  combatants. 

G.  A.   HENTY. 


CONTENTS 


CHAP.  PAGE 

I.  ENLISTED 1 

II.  IN  SPAIN 18 

III.  AN  ADVENTURE 35 

IV.  THE  FIRST  FIGHT 52 

V.  A  FURIOUS  STRUGGLE 71 

VI.   A  CAPTIVE 88 

VII.  A  GREAT  CHANGE 105 

VIII.  A  DESPERATE  ADVENTURE 123 

IX.  THE  ESCAPE 142 

X.   A  GOOD  SERVICE 160 

XI.   A  THWARTED  PLOT       178 

XII.   A  FIASCO 195 

XIII.  A  DESPERATE  ATTEMPT 212 

XIV.  A  RESCUE 231 

XV.   A  CHALLENGE 250 

XVI.  ENGAGED 266 

Tii 


Till  CONTENTS 


CHAP. 


PAGE 


XVII.  KIDNAPPED 284 

XVIII.  ESCAPED 301 

XIX.  MILITARY  MOVEMENTS 316 

XX.  THE  END  OF  A  FEUD 333 

XXL  HOME .350 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

'  SETTING  SPURS  TO  THEIR  HORSES  THE  FOUR  MEN  DASHED 
FORWARD  "        Frontispiece 

'ARTHUR    MAKES    HIS    WAY    THROUGH    THE    CARLIST    LINES ".       52 

1  A   SAIL   WAS   HOISTED   AND   THEY   RAN   OUT   MERRILY'"         .      .       70 

HE    BEGAN    TO   DRAG    HIMSELF   ALONG " 106 

ARTHUR  FLUNG  HIM  BACK  ACROSS  THE  TABLE"  ....  156 
QUEEN  CHRISTINA  HELD  OUT  HER  HAND  " 188 

AH  !  "  HE   SAID,    u  SO  I   HAVE   LAID   HANDS   ON   YOU   AT 
LAST"       218 

LITTLE  BY  LITTLE  ARTHUR'S  ADVANCE  ACCELERATED"  .  .  280 
A  TALL  MAN  WITH  A  HARSH,  ASCETIC  FACE  ENTERED"  .  308 
THE  TWO  WEAPONS  FLASHED  AT  THE  SAME  MOMENT  "  .  .  342 


WITH  THE  BRITISH  LEGION 


CHAPTER  I 

ENLISTED 

WELL,  sir,  I  shall  be  glad  to  know  what  you  intend 
to  do  next?" 
There  was  no  answer  to  the  question,  which, 
after  a  pause,  was  repeated  in  the  same  cold  tone. 
"  Don't  know,  uncle,"  came  at  last  from  the  lips  of  the  boy 
standing  before  him. 

"  Nor  do  I,  Arthur.  This  is  the  fourth  school  from  which 
I  have  been  requested  to  remove  you.  When  I  sent  you  to 
Shrewsbury  I  told  you  that  it  was  your  last  chance,  and 
now  here  you  are  back  again.  Your  case  seems  hopeless. 
By  the  terms  of  your  father's  will,  which  seems  to  have 
been  written  with  a  prevision  of  what  you  were  going  to 
turn  out,  you  are  not  to  come  into  your  property  until  you 
arrive  at  the  age  of  twenty-five;  though,  as  his  executor,  I 
was  authorized  to  pay  from  the  incoming  rents  the  cost 
of  your  education  and  clothes,  and  also  a  certain  amount 
for  your  expenses  at  the  university,  and  when  you  took  your 
degree  I  was  to  let  you  have  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds  per  year  until  you  reached  the  age  fixed  for 
your  coming  into  the  bulk  of  the  fortune." 

The  speaker,  Mr.  Hallett,  was  a  solicitor  in  Liverpool 
with  a  large  practice,  which  so  occupied  him  that  he  was  too 
busy  to  attend  to  other  matters.  At  bottom  he  was  not  an 
unkindly  man,  but  he  had  but  little  time  to  give  to  home  or 
family.  He  had  regarded  it  as  a  nuisance  when  his  elder 

1 


2  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

brother  died  and  left  him  sole  trustee  and  guardian  of  his 
son,  then  a  boy  of  ten  years  old.  Arthur's  father  had  been 
an  invalid  for  some  years  before  he  died,  and  the  boy  had 
been  allowed  to  run  almost  wild,  and  spent  the  greater  part 
of  his  time  in  the  open  air.  Under  the  tuition  of  the  grooms 
he  had  learned  to  ride  well,  and  was  often  away  for  hours 
on  his  pony;  he  had  a  daily  swim  in  the  river  that  ran 
through  the  estate,  and  was  absolutely  fearless.  He  had  had 
narrow  escapes  of  being  killed,  from  falling  from  trees  and 
walls,  and  had  fought  more  than  one  battle  with  village  boys 
of  his  own  age. 

His  father,  a  weak  invalid,  scarcely  attempted  to  control 
him  in  any  way,  although  well  aware  that  such  training  was 
eminently  bad  for  him;  but  he  knew  that  his  own  life  was 
drawing  to  a  close,  and  he  could  not  bear  the  thought  of 
sending  him  to  school,  as  his  brother  had  more  than  once 
advised  him  to  do.  He  did,  however,  shortly  before  his  death, 
take  the  latter's  advice,  and  drew  up  a  will  which  he  hoped 
would  benefit  the  boy,  by  rendering  it  impossible  for  him  to 
come  into  the  property  until  he  was  of  an  age  to  steady  down. 

"I  foresee,  Robert,"  the  lawyer  said,  "that  my  post  as 
guardian  will  be  no  sinecure,  and,  busy  as  I  am,  I  feel  that 
I  shall  not  have  much  time  to  look  after  him  personally; 
still,  for  your  sake,  I  will  do  all  that  I  can  for  him.  It  is, 
of  course,  impossible  for  me  to  keep  him  in  my  house.  After 
the  life  he  has  led,  it  would  be  equally  disagreeable  to  him 
and  to  my  wife,  so  he  must  go  to  a  boarding-school." 

And  so  at  his  brother's  death  the  solicitor  made  enquiries, 
and  sent  the  boy  to  school  at  Chester,  where  he  had  heard 
that  the  discipline  was  good.  Four  months  later  Arthur 
turned  up,  having  run  away,  and  almost  at  the  moment  of 
his  arrival  there  came  a  letter  from  the  principal,  saying  that 
he  declined  to  receive  him  back  again. 

"It  is  not  that  there  is  anything  radically  wrong  about 
him,  but  his  disobedience  to  all  the  rules  of  the  school  is 
beyond  bearing.  Flogging  appears  to  have  no  effect  upon 


ENLISTED  3 

him,  and  he  is  altogether  incorrigible.  He  has  high  spirits 
and  is  perfectly  truthful ;  he  is  bright  and  intelligent.  I  had 
intended  to  tell  you  at  the  end  of  the  half-year  that  I  should 
be  glad  if  you  would  take  him  away,  for  although  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  use  the  cane  when  necessary,  I  am  not  a  be- 
liever in  breaking  a  boy's  spirit;  and  when  I  find  that  even 
severe  discipline  is  ineffectual,  I  prefer  to  let  other  hands 
try  what  they  can  do.  I  consider  that  his  faults  are  the  result 
of  bad  training,  or  rather,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  of  no  training 
at  all  until  he  came  to  me." 

At  his  next  school  the  boy  stayed  two  years.  The  report 
was  similar  to  that  from  Chester.  The  boy  was  not  a  bad 
boy,  but  he  was  always  getting  into  mischief  and  leading 
others  into  it.  Complaints  were  continually  being  made,  by 
farmers  and  others,  of  the  breaking  down  of  hedges,  the  rob- 
bing of  orchards,  and  other  delinquencies,  in  all  of  which 
deeds  he  appeared  to  be  the  leader ;  and  as  punishment  seemed 
to  have  no  good  effect  the  head-master  requested  Mr.  Hallett 
to  remove  him. 

The  next  experiment  lasted  eighteen  months,  and  he  was 
then  expelled  for  leading  a  "barring-out"  as  a  protest 
against  an  unpopular  usher.  He  had  then  been  sent  to 
Shrewsbury,  from  which  he  had  just  returned. 

"  The  lad,"  the  head-master  wrote,  "  has  a  good  disposition. 
He  is  intelligent,  quick  at  his  books,  excellent  in  all  athletic 
exercises,  honourable  and  manly ;  but  he  is  a  perpetual  source 
of  trouble.  He  is  always  in  mischief ;  he  is  continually  being 
met  out  of  bounds;  he  is  constantly  in  fights — most  of  them, 
I  am  bound  to  say,  incurred  on  behalf  of  smaller  boys.  His 
last  offence  is  that  he  got  out  of  his  room  last  night,  broke 
the  window  of  one  of  the  masters,  who  had,  he  considered, 
treated  him  unfairly,  and  threw  a  large  number  of  crackers 
into  his  room.  He  was  detected  climbing  up  to  his  own 
window  again  by  the  house  master,  who,  having  been  awak- 
ened by  the  explosions,  had  hastily  gone  round  to  the  boys' 
rooms.  After  this  I  felt  that  I  could  keep  him  no  longer; 


4:  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION" 

discipline  must  be  sustained.  At  the  same  time  I  am  sorry 
at  being  compelled  to  say  that  he  must  leave.  He  is  a 
favourite  in  the  school,  and  has  very  many  good  qualities; 
and  his  faults  are  the  faults  of  exuberant  spirits  and  not  of 
a  bad  disposition." 

"  Now,  to  return  to  my  question,"  continued  Mr.  Hallett, 
"what  do  you  mean  to  do?  You  are  too  old  to  send  to 
another  school,  even  if  one  would  take  you,  which  no  decent 
institution -would  do  now  that  you  have  been  expelled  from 
four  schools  in  succession,  winding  up  with  Shrewsbury.  I 
have  spoken  to  you  so  often  that  I  shall  certainly  not  at- 
tempt so  thankless  a  task  again.  As  to  your  living  at  my 
house,  it  is  out  of  the  question.  I  am  away  the  whole  day; 
and  your  aunt  tells  me  that  at  the  end  of  your  last  holidays 
you  were  making  your  two  cousins  tomboys,  and  that  al- 
though she  liked  you  very  much  she  really  did  not  feel  equal 
to  having  you  about  the  house  for  six  weeks  at  a  time. 
You  cannot  complain  that  I  have  not  been  frank  with  you. 
I  told  you,  when  you  came  home  from  your  first  school,  the 
provisions  of  your  father's  will,  and  how  matters  stood.  I 
suppose  you  have  thought,  on  your  way  from  Shrewsbury, 
as  to  your  future?  You  were  well  aware  that  I  was  not  the 
sort  of  man  to  go  back  from  what  I  said.  I  warned  you 
solemnly,  when  you  went  to  Shrewsbury,  that  it  was  the  last 
chance  I  should  give  you,  and  that  if  you  came  back  again 
to  this  place  I  should  wash  my  hands  of  you,  except  that  I 
should  see  the  terms  of  the  will  strictly  carried  out. 

"  Of  course,  your  father  little  dreamt  of  such  a  situation 
as  has  arisen,  or  he  would  have  made  some  provision  for  it ; 
and  I  shall  therefore  strain  a  point,  and  make  you  an  allow- 
ance equal  to  the  sum  your  schooling  has  cost.  According 
to  the  wording  of  the  will  I  am  certainly  not  empowered  to 
do  so,  but  I  do  not  think  that  even  a  judge  in  the  Court 
of  Chancery  would  raise  any  objection.  I  have  ordered  your 
boxes  to  be  taken  to  the  Falcon  Hotel.  You  will  find  there 
a  letter  from  me  addressed  to  you,  enclosing  four  five-pound 


ENLISTED  5 

notes.  The  same  sum  will  be  sent  to  you  every  two  months 
to  any  address  that  you  may  send  to  me.  You  will,  I  hope, 
communicate  with  me  each  time  you  receive  your  remit- 
tance, acquainting  me  with  what  you  are  doing.  I  may  tell 
you  that  I  have  determined  on  this  course  with  some  hopes 
that  when  you  are  your  own  master  you  will  gain  a  sufficient 
sense  of  responsibility  to  steady  you.  At  the  end  of  two 
years,  if  you  desire  to  go  to  the  university  you  will  receive 
the  allowance  there  which  would  be  suitable  for  you.  I  have 
thought  this  matter  over  very  carefully  and  painfully, 
Arthur.  I  talked  it  over  with  your  aunt  last  night.  She 
is  deeply  grieved,  but  she  agrees  with  me  that  it  is  as  good 
a  plan  as  can  be  devised  for  you.  You  cannot  go  to  school 
again;  we  cannot  have  you  at  home  on  our  hands  for  two 
years." 

"  Thank  you,"  the  lad  said ;  "  I  know  I  have  been  a  fright- 
ful trouble  to  you,  and  I  am  not  surprised  that  I  have  worn 
out  your  patience." 

"I  wish  you  to  understand,  Arthur,  that  the  course  has 
been  made  easier  to  your  aunt  and  myself,  because  we  are 
convinced  that  with  all  your  boyish  folly  you  can  be  trusted 
not  to  do  anything  to  disgrace  your  father's  name,  and  that 
these  two  years  of  what  I  may  call  probation  will  teach  you 
to  think  for  yourself;  and  at  its  termination  you  will  be 
ready  to  go  to  the  university  to  prepare  yourself  for  the  life 
of  a  country  gentleman  which  lies  before  you.  If  you  will 
let  me  advise  you  at  all,  I  should  say  that  as  a  beginning 
you  might  do  worse  than  put  a  knapsack  on  your  back  and 
go  for  a  walking  tour  of  some  months  through  England, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland,  after  which  you  might  go  on  to  the 
Continent  for  a  bit.  I  don't  like  to  influence  your  decision, 
but  I  know  that  you  will  never  be  content  to  stay  quiet, 
and  this  would  be  a  way  of  working  off  your  superfluous 
energy.  Now,  lad,  we  will  shake  hands.  I  am  convinced 
that  your  experience  during  the  next  two  years  will  be  of 
great  value  to  you,  and  I  ask  you  to  believe  that  in  what 


6  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION" 

we  have  decided  upon  we  have  had  your  own  good  even  more 
than  our  comfort  at  heart." 

"I  will  think  it  over,  uncle,"  the  lad  said,  his  face  clear- 
ing up  somewhat,  "  and  will  write  to  tell  you  and  my  aunt 
what  I  am  going  to  do.  I  suppose  you  have  no  objection 
to  my  saying  good-bye  to  my  aunt  and  my  cousins  before  I 
go?" 

"  No  objection  at  all.  You  have  done  nothing  dishonour- 
able; you  have  let  your  spirits  carry  you  away,  and  have 
shown  a  lamentable  contempt  for  discipline.  These  are 
faults  that  will  cure  themselves  in  time.  Come  by  all  means 
to  see  your  aunt  before  you  go." 

Arthur  Hallett  left  his  uncle's  office  in  somewhat  low 
spirits.  He  was  conscious  that  his  uncle's  indignation  was 
natural,  and  that  he  thoroughly  deserved  it.  He  had  had  a 
jolly  time,  and  he  was  sorry  that  it  was  over;  but  he  was 
ashamed  of  the  trouble  he  had  given  his  uncle  and  aunt, 
and  quite  expected  that  they  would  not  again  receive  him. 
His  only  fear  had  been  that  his  uncle  would  at  once  place 
him  with  some  clergyman  who  made  a  specialty  of  coaching 
troublesome  boys;  and  he  had  determined  that  after  the 
liberty  and  pleasant  life  at  Shrewsbury  he  could  never  put 
up  with  that.  But  upon  the  way  by  coach  to  Liverpool  he 
had  read  a  placard  which  had  decided  him.  It  ran  as  follows : 

"  Smart  young  men  required  for  the  British  Legion  now 
being  formed.  A  bounty  of  two  pounds  and  free  kit  will 
be  given  to  each  applicant  accepted.  For  all  particulars 
apply  at  the  Recruiting  Office,  34  the  Quay,  Liverpool." 

"  That  is  just  the  thing  for  me,"  he  said  to  himself.  "  Till 
I  saw  that,  I  had  intended  to  enlist ;  but  there  is  no  chance 
of  a  war,  and  I  expect  I  should  get  into  all  sorts  of  mischief 
in  no  time.  This  legion,  I  know,  is  going  out  to  fight  in 
Spain.  I  read  all  about  it  some  time  ago.  There  will  be 
excitement  there,  and  I  dare  say  hard  work,  and  possibly 
short  rations.  However,  that  will  make  no  odds  to  me.  It 
will  be  something  quite  new,  I  should  think,  and  just  the 


ENLISfEB  7 

life  to  suit  me.    At  any  rate  I  will  walk  down  to  the  quay 
and  hear  what  they  say  about  it." 

Going  to  the  hotel  to  which  his  luggage  had  been  sent,  he 
ordered  a  meal  at  once,  and  then,  having  eaten  it,  for  he 
was  hungry  after  his  long  journey,  he  strolled  down  to  the 
wharf.  He  was  shown  into  a  room  where  the  recruiting 
officer  was  sitting. 

"I  am  thinking  of  enlisting,  sir." 

The  officer  looked  at  him  sharply.  "Have  you  thought 
what  you  are  doing?"  he  said. 

"  Yes." 

"  You  are  not  the  style  of  recruit  that  comes  to  us.  I 
suppose  you  have  run  away  from  school?" 

"  I  have  been  sent  away,"  Arthur  said,  "  because  I  shoved 
some  fireworks  into  one  of  the  masters'  rooms.  It  happened 
once  or  twice  before,  and  my  friends  are  tired  of  me.  I  have 
always  been  getting  into  rows,  and  they  will  be  glad  to  be 
rid  of  me." 

"You  look  more  cut  out  for  an  officer  than  a  private. 
How  old  are  you  ? " 

"  I  am  past  sixteen." 

"  It's  young,  but  we  are  not  particular  as  to  age  if  a  fellow 
is  strong  and  active.  The  pay  is  rather  better  than  the  line 
here." 

"  It  is  not  the  pay,  but  the  life  that  I  want  to  see,"  the 
lad  said.  "  My  guardian  has  washed  his  hands  of  me  for  the 
present.  I  have  neither  father  nor  mother.  I  have  never 
had  a  day's  illness,  and  I  fancy  that  I  am  as  strong  as  the 
majority  of  your  recruits  will  be.  I  shall  come  into  some 
money  when  I  am  of  age;  and  I  don't  know  any  way  of 
passing  the  time  till  then  that  will  suit  me  better  than  en- 
listing when  there  is  some  chance  of  fighting." 

"There  will  be  every  chance  of  that,"  the  officer  said 
grimly.  "  We  have  got  nearly  our  number  on  board  a  hulk 
anchored  in  the  river,  and  shall  sail  in  two  days.  I  myself 
go  out  in  command  of  the  party.  You  give  me  your  word 


8  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION" 

of  honour  that  you  have  neither  father  nor  mother  who 
would  raise  objections?" 

"Yes,  sir.  I  lost  my  mother  when  I  was  two  years  old, 
and  my  father  when  I  was  ten." 

"  Well,  lad,  I  don't  see  any  reason  why  I  should  not  take 
you.  We  have  a  miscellaneous  body :  a  few  old  soldiers,  some 
broken-down  tradesmen,  a  few  clerks,  a  dozen  or  so  runaway 
apprentices,  a  couple  of  dozen  young  agricultural  labourers, 
and  a  few  young  men  who  have  come  to  grief  in  some  sort 
of  way.  They  are  a  rough  lot,  but  they  will  soon  be  licked 
into  shape.  Our  colonel  started  three  days  ago  from  Leith, 
and  we  shall  join  the  rest  of  the  regiment  somewhere  on  the 
Spanish  coast.  Even  I  do  not  know  where  it  will  be  until  I 
open  my  letter  of  instructions.  I  may  tell  you  that  if  you 
behave  well  there  is  every  chance  that  you  will  get  a  com- 
mission in  a  couple  of  years.  However,  I  will  not  sVear  you 
in  now.  I  will  give  you  the  night  to  think  over  it." 

"Very  well,  sir;  but  I  don't  think  that  I  am  likely  to 
change  my  mind." 

Leaving  the  recruiting  officer,  Arthur  spent  the  afternoon 
in  strolling  about  the  docks  and  watching  the  shipping,  al- 
ways a  favourite  amusement  of  his  during  the  holidays.  He 
had  done  a  good  deal  of  rowing  at  Shrewsbury  when  there 
was  water  enough  in  the  river,  and  had  learnt  to  sail  in  the 
holidays ;  and  until  he  saw  the  advertisement  for  men  for  the 
British  Legion,  he  had  hesitated  whether  to  enlist  or  to  ship 
before  the  mast.  On  his  way  back  to  the  hotel  he  bought  a 
pamphlet  explaining  the  causes  of  the  war  in  Spain,  and 
sitting  down  in  a  corner  of  the  coffee-room  he  read  this  at- 
tentively. It  told  him  but  little  more  than  he  already  knew, 
for  the  war  going  on  in  Spain  excited  considerable  attention 
and  interest. 

The  little  girl  Isabella  had  been  recently  left  fatherless, 
and  was  but  a  cipher.  The  affairs  of  state  were  in  the  capable 
hands  of  the  regent,  her  mother  Christina.  Don  Carlos  had 
on  his  side  the  northern  provinces  of  Spain,  especially  the 


EttLISTED  9 

Basques.  These  provinces  always  enjoyed  peculiar  privileges, 
and  Don  Carlos  had  secured  their  allegiance  by  swearing  to 
uphold  these  rights.  He  had  the  support  also  of  a  large  body 
of  the  clergy.  The  provinces  of  Aragon  and  Valencia  were 
pretty  equally  divided,  and  fighting  between  the  two  factions 
was  constantly  going  on.  Madrid  and  the  centre  of  Spain 
was  for  Isabella.  The  royal  forces  were  superior  in  number 
to  those  of  the  Carlists,  but  the  inequality  was  corrected  by 
the  fact  that  the  Carlist  generals  were  superior  to  those  of 
the  crown.  The  Basques  were  sturdy  fighters  and  active 
men,  capable  of  long  marches,  carrying  no  baggage  with 
them,  and  effecting  many  surprises  when  they  were  believed 
to  be  a  hundred  miles  away.  In  England  and  France  the 
Carlists  had  many  sympathizers,  but  the  bulk  of  the  people 
in  both  countries  were  in  favour  of  the  little  queen;  and 
although  the  British  government  took  no  open  part  in  the 
struggle,  they  had  permitted  the  legion,  ten  thousand 
strong,  under  Colonel  de  Lacy  Evans,  to  be  raised  openly 
and  without  hinderance  for  the  service  of  the  Spanish  sov- 
ereign. 

Arthur  Hallett  went  to  bed  and  dreamed  many  improbable 
dreams,  in  which  he  greatly  distinguished  himself,  and  in  the 
morning  went  down  to  the  recruiting  office  and  signed  away 
his  liberty  for  two  years. 

"  Do  you  want  any  part  of  your  bounty  now  ? "  the  officer 
asked. 

"  No,  sir ;  I  suppose  we  shall  get  it  before  landing  ? " 

"  Certainly." 

"  Do  we  go  in  the  clothes  we  stand  in  ? " 

"Yes;  the  uniforms  and  arms  will  be  supplied  to  you  on 
landing." 

"  Must  I  go  on  board  the  hulk  now  ? " 

"  ~No ;  the  recruits  in  general  go  off  as  soon  as  they  are 
sworn  in,  but  as  you  have  not  asked  for  any  part  of  the 
bounty  there  is  no  occasion  for  you  to  do  so." 

"Very  well,  sir;  I  will  not  come  on  board  till  to-morrow 


10  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGIOff 

evening.  I  have  got  to  get  rid  of  my  clothes  and  portman- 
teaux." 

That  afternoon  he  went  up  to  his  aunt's.  He  told  them 
that  he  was  going  to  leave  Liverpool;  his  plans  were  not 
settled  yet,  but  he  was  certainly  going  to  travel.  His  aunt 
and  cousins  were  both  greatly  affected  at  his  leaving. 

"  My  dear  aunt,"  he  said,  "  I  have  nobody  to  blame  but 
myself,  and  I  have  to  thank  both  you  and  uncle  for  the 
manner  in  which  you  have  borne  with  me;  and  I  believe 
and  hope  that  when  I  come  back  I  shall  have  sobered  down. 
Uncle  said  that  I  might  come  up  and  say  good-bye  to  you 
before  I  started,  and  in  a  few  days  you  shall  hear  from  me. 
I  shall  not  burden  myself  with  much  luggage :  just  a  couple 
of  flannel  shirts,  a  couple  of  pairs  of  vests  and  drawers, 
stockings,  and  a  spare  pair  of  boots.  That  won't  make  a  very 
heavy  kit.  My  other  things  I  shall  sell;  they  will  be  of  no 
good  to  me.  And  I  shall  get  a  rough  shooting-coat  instead 
of  this  jacket,  for  which  I  am  already  growing  too  big.  It 
is  all  very  well  at  school,  but  a  shooting-coat  with  pockets 
is  much  handier  for  walking  in." 

His  cousins,  who  were  girls  of  thirteen  and  fourteen,  both 
cried  bitterly  when  he  said  good-bye  to  them,  and  his  aunt 
was  also  in  tears. 

"If  you  are  ever  short  of  money,"  she  said,  "write  to 
me;  I  will  manage  to  let  you  have  some." 

"I  don't  think  I  shall  be  short,  aunt.  I  shall  be  able  to 
live  very  comfortably  on  my  allowance;  if  I  don't,  it  will 
be  my  own  fault.  I  have  been  on  walking  tours  before,  you 
know,  and  I  am  sure  I  can  do  on  the  money." 

He  went  off  after  staying  for  an  hour. 

"  That  is  all  done,"  he  said,  as  he  walked  down  the  town. 
"If  the  war  goes  on  for  seven  or  eight  years  I  shall  be  of 
age  when  I  come  back,  shall  have  my  thousand  a  year,  and 
shall  have  sown  my  wild  oats,"  and  he  laughed.  "I  have 
certainly  made  a  mess  of  it  so  far.  Unless  the  Spaniards 
have  changed  from  what  they  were  twenty  years  ago,  their 


ENLISTED  11 

promises  are  not  worth  the  paper  they  are  written  upon,  and 
I  expect  that  we  shall  often  go  hungry  to  bed.  Well,  I 
think  I  can  stand  it  if  anyone  can." 

The  next  morning  he  called  on  a  second-hand  clothing 
dealer,  who  examined  his  clothes.  Arthur  was  obliged  to 
allow  that  most  of  these  had  seen  rough  work.  However, 
after  great  bargaining  he  got  three  pounds,  a  rough  shoot- 
ing-coat, and  a  good  supply  of  shirts  and  underclothes  for 
the  lot,  including  the  portmanteau.  He  kept  his  stock  of 
books,  and  packing  them  up  in  a  box,  directed  them  to  be 
sent  four  days  later,  if  he  did  not  come  for  them,  to  his 
uncle's  house.  He  had  already  bought  the  knapsack,  and 
found  that  he  could  get  all  his  remaining  belongings  into 
this.  At  five  o'clock  he  went  down  to  the  quay  and  was 
taken  out  in  a  boat,  with  some  twelve  other  recruits,  to 
the  hulk.  As  he  reached  the  deck  he  regretted  for  a  moment 
the  step  he  had  taken.  A  crowd  of  recruits  is  not  at  the 
best  of  times  a  cheering  spectacle.  Here  was  a  miscellaneous 
crowd  of  men — many  of  them  drunk,  some  lying  about  sleep- 
ing off  the  effects  of  the  liquor,  which  had  been  the  first 
purchase  they  had  made  out  of  their  bounty  money. 

Others  were  standing  looking  vacantly  towards  the  land. 
Some  were  walking  up  and  down  restlessly,  regretting,  now 
that  it  was  too  late,  that  they  had  enlisted.  Others  were 
sleeping  quietly,  well  content  that  their  struggle  to  maintain 
life  had  for  the  present  ended.  A  few  men,  evidently,  from 
their  carriage,  old  campaigners,  were  gathered  together  com- 
paring their  experiences,  and  passing  unfavourable  comment 
upon  the  rest,  while  forward  were  a  group  of  country  yokels, 
to  whom  everything  was  strange.  Here  and  there  men  with 
dejected  faces — failures  in  trade,  men  for  whom  fortune  had 
been  too  strong — paced  up  and  down.  A  few  young  fellows 
had  escaped  the  general  contagion,  and  were  laughing  up- 
roariously and  playing  boyish  tricks  upon  each  other.  These 
thought  more  of  their  freedom  from  their  taskmasters,  and 
pictured  for  themselves  their  fury  on  finding  that  they  had 


12  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

escaped  from  their  grasp.  A  few,  for  the  most  part  old 
soldiers,  walked  up  and  down  with  a  military  step  and  car- 
riage. These  were  glad  to  be  in  the  ranks  again — glad  to 
feel  that  they  would  soon  be  in  uniform  again.  It  was  the 
sight  of  these  men  that  reanimated  Arthur.  These  men  were 
soldiers;  they  knew  war  and  rejoiced  at  it,  and  he  pictured 
that  in  a  short  time  this  motley  group — these  drunken  speci- 
mens, these  careworn  men — would  be  turned  into  soldiers, 
their  past  misfortunes  forgotten,  with  carriage  active  and 
alert,  ready  to  face  their  enemies. 

"  They  are  a  rougher  lot  than  I  expected,"  he  said  to  him- 
self; "but  many  of  them  must,  like  myself,  have  come  to 
this  through  their  own  folly.  I  looked  for  a  rough  time  of 
it,  but  scarcely  so  bad  as  this." 

One  of  the  soldiers,  struck  by  his  appearance,  stopped  in 
his  walk  to  speak  to  him.  "Well,  young  fellow,"  he  said, 
"you  look  to  me  one  of  the  right  sort.  Got  into  a  scrape, 
and  run  away  "from  home,  eh?  Well,  your  sort  often  make 
the  best  soldiers.  What  shall  you  do  with  your  kit?  Well, 
whatever  you  do  with  it,  don't  let  it  out  of  your  sight  for 
the  present.  If  I  am  not  mistaken,  there  is  more  than  one 
jail-bird  here.  You  will  be  safe  enough  when  we  once  get 
under  way;  but  eight  or  ten  have  already  jumped  overboard 
and  got  away,  and  you  can't  count  on  keeping  anything  till 
we  are  clear  out  at  sea.  Look  at  those  boats  round  the  hulk. 
Half  of  them  have  got  friends  on  board,  and  are  waiting 
for  the  chance  of  getting  them  away  in  spite  of  the  sentries. 
There  are  twenty  or  thirty  of  us,  all  old  hands,  who  will 
probably  be  non-coms,  when  we  are  landed. 

"  At  present  we  are  told  off  on  guard,  and  there  are  four 
of  us  always  on  sentry  duty.  I  guess  you  won't  'be  long 
before  you  get  stripes  too.  You  have  only  to  keep  yourself 
steady  to  get  on.  We  have  got  half  a  dozen  officers  on  board 
— at  least  they  are  called  officers,  though  they  know  no  more 
of  soldiering  than  those  drunken  pigs  in  the  scuppers.  That 
is  where  our  difficulty  will  be.  We  call  them  the  politicals. 


ENLISTED  13 

They  are  most  of  them  men  Colonel  Evans  has  appointed 
for  services  rendered  to  him  at  Westminster.  Some  of  them 
look  as  if  they  would  turn  out  well ;  but  others  are  sick  of  it 
already,  though  they  have  only  been  two  or  three  days  on 
board,  and  are  heartily  wishing  themselves  back  in  their 
homes.  However,  one  can't  tell  at  first.  They  may  turn 
out  better  than  we  expect.  What  is  your  name?  Mine  is 
James  Topping." 

"  Mine  is  Arthur  Hallett.  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for 
coming  to  speak  to  me,  for  I  was  beginning  to  get  rather 
down  in  the  mouth." 

"You  mean  at  the  look  of  the  recruits,  I  suppose?  They 
are  a  fair  average  set,  I  think;  only  one  doesn't  generally 
get  so  many  together.  By  the  time  we  have  been  in  Spain 
for  a  fortnight,  they  will  have  a  different  look  altogether. 
I  wish  we  had  a  few  more  country  chaps  among  them.  But 
there  are  not  twenty  here  with  full  stomachs,  except  those 
who  are  drunk  with  beer.  They  have  the  making  of  good 
soldiers  in  them,  but  just  at  present  they  are  almost  all  down 
in  the  dumps." 

"  How  much  longer  are  we  going  to  stay  here  ? " 

"I  believe  we  tranship  to-morrow  into  the  vessel  that  is 
to  carry  us,  and  sail  next  day.  I  shall  be  precious  glad 
when  we  are  off.  Now,  come  along  with  me  and  I  will  name 
you  to  a  few  of  the  right  sort.  Bring  your  kit  along  with 
you.  It  won't  be  safe  to  leave  it  about." 

He  went  up  to  a  party  of  four  men  of  his  own  stamp. 
"  Mates,"  he  said,  "  here  is  a  young  fellow  of  the  right  sort. 
I  wish  we  had  a  few  more  dozen  like  him." 

"  Ay,  ay ! "  another  one  said,  looking  approvingly  at  the 
active  figure  and  the  pleasant  face  of  the  young  recruit. 
"He  will  make  a  good  soldier,  there  is  no  doubt;  one  can 
see  that  with  half  an  eye.  He  is  well  filled  out,  too,  for  a 
young  one.  You  ought  to  be  in  the  cabin  aft,  not  here. 
And  you  will  be  there  before  long,  unless  I  am  mistaken. 
Don't  you  think  so,  mates  ? " 


14  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

There  was  a  chorus  of  assent. 

"I  did  not  join  with  any  idea  of  getting  promotion," 
Arthur  said  with  a  laugh.  "I  have  come  out  for  the  fun 
of  the  thing,  and  I  mean  to  make  the  best  of  it.  I  expected 
it  would  be  rough  work,  and  I  made  up  my  mind  to  stick 
to  it." 

"  I  reckon  it  will  be,"  one  of  the  men,  who  was  older  than 
the  rest,  said.  "  I  joined  as  a  youngster  just  before  Vittoria, 
and  if  I  had  my  choice  I  would  rather  campaign  in  any  other 
country.  The  Spaniards  are  brutes,  and  there  was  not  one 
of  us  that  would  not  have  pitched  into  them  rather  than 
into  the  French.  However,  I  served  my  full  time  and  got 
my  pension;  but  when  I  saw  that  there  was  a  chance  of 
service  again  and  no  questions  asked  as  to  age,  I  was  only 
too  glad  to  put  my  name  down  for  it,  and  was  promised 
my  old  berth  as  sergeant-major." 

"I  should  have  enlisted  for  the  cavalry,"  Arthur  said, 
"but  they  seem  taking  recruits  only  for  the  infantry." 

"I  don't  suppose  they  would  be  able  to  find  horses  for 
cavalry.  Well,  I  don't  know  which  has  the  best  of  it.  It  is 
easier  to  ride  than  to  march,  but  you  have  heavier  work, 
what  with  patrols  and  night  guard.  I  hear  that  there  are 
ship-loads  of  men  going  from  Leith  and  Dublin  and  the 
Thames,  so  I  dare  say  there  will  be  enough  of  your  sort  to 
make  up  a  squadron  if  they  decide  to  form  a  cavalry  corps." 
He  drew  out  a  pocket-book.  "  I  will  put  you  into  the  25th 
mess,  in  which  there  is  one  vacancy.  Your  mates  are  a  de- 
cent set  of  young  fellows.  I  picked  out  those  that  I  thought 
would  get  on  well  together." 

"  Are  you  salted  yet  ?  " 

"Salted?"  Arthur  repeated. 

"Yes;  accustomed  to  the  sea." 

"No,  but  I  have  done  a  good  deal  of  sailing,  sometimes 
in  rough  weather,  and  I  don't  think  I  shall  feel  sea-sick." 

"  Your  mess  is  the  last  on  the  right-hand  side  aft.  Supper 
will  be  served  in  a  few  minutes,  so  you  can  take  your  kit 


ENLISTED  15 

down  there.  I  don't  think  anyone  will  be  likely  to  touch  it 
there — in  the  first  place,  because  it  is  rather  a  dark  corner, 
and  in  the  second  place,  because  we  have  got  sentries  posted 
at  each  hatchway,  and  no  one  is  allowed  to  bring  anything 
up  on  deck;  so  I  think  you  will  be  safe  in  leaving  anything 
there." 

"  Thank  you,  sergeant.  I  will  go  down  at  once,  and  put 
my  kit  there  and  look  round." 

"  I  will  bet  that  he  has  run  away  from  home,"  the  sergeant 
said,  as  Arthur  disappeared  down  the  gangway.  "  I  wish 
we  had  got  a  few  more  of  that  sort.  I  will  put  a  tick  against 
his  name.  He  is  young — not  above  seventeen,  I  should  say 
— but  he  has  the  makings  of  an  officer  about  him.  There 
is  one  cavalry  officer  aft.  If  I  get  a  chance,  I  will  say  a  good 
word  for  him.  He  is  just  the  lad  for  the  cavalry,  not  too 
much  weight,  active  and  cheery.  He  seems  to  have  all  his 
wits  about  him,  which  is  more  than  I  can  say  for  most  of 
the  officers,  as  far  as  I  have  seen  of  them.  Still,  they  will 
lick  into  shape  presently,  though  I  foresee  that  the  officers 
will  be  our  weak  point.  They  may  be  the  right  stuff,  but 
they  don't  know  their  duty  at  all.  There  is  a  captain  among 
them  who  doesn't  know  his  drill,  and  one  doesn't  expect  that 
in  a  captain.  It  is  the  same  with  many  of  the  others;  they 
are  nearly  all  raw.  However,  I  hope  that  the  majors  know 
their  duty,  and  will  be  able  to  get  them  into  shape  soon. 
It  was  the  same  with  the  great  war.  Whole  regiments  were 
ordered  on  service  who  were  fresh  to  it,  but  they  soon  learned 
to  take  their  place  with  the  best  of  them.  It  is  astonishing 
how  quickly  men  pick  up  their  work  when  there  is  an  enemy 
in  front  of  them." 

Arthur  groped  his  way  below.  It  was  already  growing 
dusk,  and  only  two  or  three  ports  were  open.  Picking  his 
way  along,  to  avoid  tripping  over  men  lying  hopelessly  drunk 
on  the  floor,  he  reached  the  spot  that  the  sergeant  had  indi- 
cated to  him,  and  placed  his  kit  in  the  corner.  In  a  few 
minutes  the  men  began  to  pour  down,  some  of  them  descend- 


16  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

ing  to  the  deck  below.  Lamps  were  lighted  and  hung  up 
to  the  beams,  and  under  the  orders  of  the  old  soldiers  they 
took  their  places  at  the  tables. 

Arthur  was  not  hungry,  as  he  had  had  a  good  meal  before 
coming  off,  but  sat  down  and  looked  round  at  the  five  men 
who  were  to  be  his  associates  during  the  voyage.  Two  of 
them  he  put  down  as  clerks.  One  of  these  was  a  pleasant- 
faced  young  fellow  who  had  evidently  just  thrown  up  his 
situation  to  take  to  a  life  of  adventure;  the  other  was  thin 
and  pale,  and  he  guessed  him  to  be  a  man  who  had  for  some 
reason  or  other  lost  his  employment  and  had  enlisted  as  a 
last  resource;  the  other  three  were  respectable  men  of  the 
small  trader  class. 

The  meal,  which  was  the  first  that  had  been  served  since 
midday,  consisted  of  a  bowl  of  soup  each  and  a  large  hunch 
of  bread.  After  the  first  spoonful  or  two  they  began  to 
talk. 

"Well,"  the  young  man  facing  Arthur  said,  "this  is  not 
so  bad  as  being  quite  starved,  for  I  came  on  board  just  after 
dinner  was  served.  I  suppose  we, are  going  to  be  together 
for  the  voyage.  My  name  is  Koper,  Jack  Koper.  I  hated 
the  desk,  and  so  here  I  am." 

"  I  got  into  a  row  at  school  and  am  going  to  see  a  bit  of 
the  world,"  Arthur  said.  "My  name  is  Arthur  Hallett." 

"I  had  a  little  business,  but  it  was  so  little  that  I  could 
not  live  on  it,  so  I  thought  that  I  would  try  soldiering.  My 
name  is  John  Perkins." 

"  I  left,  gentlemen,"  another  man  said,  "  because  I  was 
married.  I  come  from  Manchester.  By  nature  I  am  a  peace- 
able man,  and  like  quiet.  I  could  not  get  either  peace  or 
quiet  at  home,  and  I  don't  suppose  that  I  shall  get  either 
here.  Still,  I  would  rather  put  up  with  anything  that  can 
come  than  with  my  life  at  home.  My  name  is  John  Hum- 
phrey." 

"I  preferred  the  risk  of  being  shot  to  the  certainty  of 
being  starved,"  the  other  clerk  said.  "  This  basin  of  pea- 


ENLISTED  17 

soup  is  the  first  food  I  have  tasted  for  two  days.  My  name 
is  William  Hopkins." 

"  I,"  said  the  last  man,  "  am  a  tragedian.  Tragedy  did  not 
suffice  to  keep  me  alive;  the  country  did  not  appreciate  me, 
and  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  I  would  be  an  actor  in 
this  tragedy  in  Spain.  My  name  is  Peter  Mowser." 

"  I  hope  it  is  not  going  to  be  a  tragedy  as  far  as  any  of 
us  are  concerned,"  Jack  Roper  laughed.  "I  don't  expect 
that  we  shall  have  a  great  deal  of  fighting  to  do." 

"I  don't  know,"  Arthur  said.  "The  Spaniards  did  not 
fight  well  in  the  Peninsula,  but  I  think  they  will  do  better 
against  each  other.  I  rather  hope  they  will,  for  we  shall  find 
it  very  dull  if  they  don't.  I  shall  be  really  obliged  if  you 
will  take  my  soup,"  he  went  on,  speaking  to  the  half -starved 
clerk.  "I  had  dinner  before  I  came  on  board,  so  I  can?t 
touch  this.  As  you  came  on  board  without  dining,  you  must 
want  it." 

"I  do  want  it,"  the  other  said,  gratefully  accepting  the 
offer.  "  They  did  not  pay  me  my  bounty  till  I  came  on 
board,  and  I  was  really  faint  from  hunger,  and  it  seemed 
hard  to  be  starving  and  to  have  money  in  my  pocket  with- 
out a  chance  of  buying  anything  to  eat." 

When  they  had  all  finished,  one  of  the  old  soldiers  came 
round.  "  One  of  you  by  turns  will  take  the  plates  and  spoons 
of  the  rest  and  wash  them." 

"I  will  begin,"  Jack  Roper  said. 

"  Well  then,  you  are  Number  One,"  and  he  numbered  them 
off  as  they  sat.  "You  will  change  after  dinner  to-morrow. 
It  will  be  your  duty  to  fetch  the  rations  from  the  cook-house 
and  to  wash  up.  Anyone  who  is  badly  sea-sick  can  defer 
his  turn,"  and  he  passed  on  to  the  next  table. 

The  iron  legs  supporting  the  table  were  folded  up  under 
it,  and  the  table  itself  shut  against  the  side  of  the  ship.  They 
learned  that  no  one  would  be  allowed  to  go  up,  so  sitting 
in  a  group  they  talked  over  the  life  before  them.  Arthur 
was  glad  to  find  that  Roper  would  also  enlist  in  the  cavalry 


18  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

if  a  regiment  were  formed,  he  having  been  brought  up  in 
the  country. 

"  I  was  a  fool,"  he  said,  "  ever  to  leave  it.  My  father  was 
a  farmer,  and  gave  me  a  fair  education.  I  had  two  elder 
brothers,  and  they  both  remained  on  the  farm,  while  I  was 
sent  to  a  desk  in  Liverpool.  I  stood  it  for  two  years,  and 
even  if  I  leave  my  bones  in  Spain  I  shall  not  regret  the 
change.  I  should  have  enlisted  long  ago  in  the  army,  but 
things  are  everywhere  quiet  now,  and  I  did  not  see  that  life 
in  barracks  would  be  much  more  lively  than  a  stool  in  an 
office." 

While  they  chatted  in  this  way  a  great  noise  was  going  on 
on  both  decks.  In  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  old  soldiers  to 
keep  order,  some  of  the  men  shouted  and  sang.  Others,  who 
were  just  recovering  from  drunkenness,  sat  with  their  hands 
to  their  heads.  Quiet  men  shrank  away  into  corners.  Some 
parties  of  jovial  fellows  produced  packs  of  cards,  and  sitting 
down  under  a  lantern,  sat  down  to  play. 

At  nine  o'clock  the  lights  were  extinguished,  and  the  men, 
wrapping  themselves  in  blankets  that  had  been  served  round, 
lay  down,  and  in  half  an  hour  quiet  reigned. 


CHAPTER  II 

IN    SPAIN 

AT  six  o'clock  all  hands  were  called  on  deck  and  ordered 
to  have  a  wash.  For  this  buckets  were  utilized.  A 
few  stripped  only  to  the  waist,  but  many,  among  whom  were 
Arthur  and  Roper,  undressed  and  poured  water  over  each 
other,  feeling  the  need  of  it  after  the  night  in  the  close  and 
crowded  cabin.  With  the  fresh  morning  all  were  inclined  to 
take  a  more  cheerful  view  of  things,  and  at  eight  o'clock 
enjoyed  breakfast.  Then  they  went  up  on  deck  again,  and 


IN   SPAIN  19 

those  who  smoked  lit  their  pipes.  As  before,  boats  came  up 
round  the  ship,  and  those  which  had  provisions  were  allowed 
to  come  alongside,  and  sell  their  goods  to  the  men  who  had 
money.  Most  of  those  on  board  had  already  got  rid  of  their 
small  advances,  but  the  new-comers  had  all  a  few  shillings 
in  their  pockets,  and  freely  spent  them. 

Arthur  and  his  companion  each  bought  two  dozen  hard- 
boiled  eggs  and  a  dozen  buns.  Others  bought  spirits  for  a 
final  carousal.  A  few  stood  looking  mournfully  at  the  shore. 
A  little  farther  out  were  boats  containing  friends  or  rela- 
tives, and  three  or  four  men  at  different  times  jumped  sud- 
denly overboard  and  struck  out  for  them;  then  half  a  dozen 
of  the  non-commissioned  officers  jumped  into  a  boat  lying 
alongside  and  gave  chase,  and  there  were  fierce  battles — the 
weapons  being  oars,  pieces  of  coal,  and  other  missiles.  In 
all  cases,  however,  they  succeeded  in  bringing  the  deserters 
back,  and  these  were  at  once  ironed  and  sent  below.  The 
officers  remained  on  the  poop  smoking  and  talking.  They 
were  all  in  uniform,  but  most  of  them  did  not  attempt  to 
exercise  their  new  functions.  One  or  two,  however,  who 
had  served  before,  went  about  among  the  men  chatting  with 
them,  pointing  out  to  them  that  they  had  enlisted  of  their 
own  free-will,  that  it  was  no  manner  of  use  for  them  to  kick 
against  the  pricks,  and  that  they  would  find  things  much 
better  when  they  had  shaken  down. 

One  of  these  came  up  to  Arthur  and  Eoper  when  they 
were  talking  together.  "  So  you  have  put  your  name  down 
for  a  cavalry  corps  if  one  is  raised,"  he  said  to  them,  as  he 
looked  at  the  list  of  his  men ;  "  and  I  can  see  that  you  will 
both  make  good  soldiers  in  a  short  time.  Keep  away  from 
spirits,  lads,  and  don't  take  much  of  the  native  wine,  and 
you  will  soon  have  stripes  on  your  arms.  I  shall  keep  my 
eye  on  you  both,  and  push  you  forward  if  you  deserve  it." 
Having  then  ticked  their  names  on  his  list,  he  went  on. 

As  they  finished  their  dinner  the  steamer  which  had  been 
chartered  for  their  conveyance  to  Spain  came  alongside. 


20  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

The  old  soldiers  formed  the  others  up  in  line,  and  they  went 
on  board.  Their  scanty  belongings  were  all  stowed  away,  and 
the  officers  then  came  down  and  inspected  them.  The  vessel 
was  larger  than  the  hulk,  and  they  were  not  packed  so  closely 
as  before.  The  ports  were  open  and  the  deck  fresh  and  airy, 
and  even  the  most  downcast  of  the  force  cheered  up. 

"  They  are  a  curious-looking  lot,"  one  of  the  newly-ap- 
pointed officers  said  to  the  cavalry  captain,  glancing  con- 
temptuously at  the  motley  group  on  deck. 

"They  will  look  very  different  when  they  get  their  uni- 
forms," the  cavalry  man  said  sharply,  "  and  are  a  pretty  fair 
sample.  As  far  as  I  can  see,  I  have  no  reason  to  grumble 
at  my  lot.  There  are  eight  or  ten  countrymen  among  them, 
and  as  many  fellows  from  the  town  who  have  had  experience 
in  handling  horses.  One  is  a  particularly  smart  young  fellow. 
He  is  rather  young  yet,  but,  unless  I  am  mistaken,  will 
turn  out  a  capital  soldier.  He  is  a  gentleman,  evidently.  I 
should  say  that  he  had  got  into  some  scrape  at  school  or 
at  home  and  bolted.  He  is  the  best-dressed  man  on  board, 
and,  if  I. am  not  mistaken,  he  will  not  be  long  in  winning 
his  promotion.  He  is  well-bred,  whoever  he  is.  I  shall  be 
glad  to  have  him  as  one  of  my  subalterns.  That  is  the  man 
chatting  with  another  against  the  bulwark.  The  other 
will  turn  out  a  good  man  too,  but  he  is  not  of  the  same 
stamp.  The  sergeant-major  spoke  to  me  about  the  first  this 
morning  when  he  went  through  the  list  with  me.  I  should 
say  that  he  was  a  public-school  boy;  you  can  seldom  mis- 
take them." 

Next  morning  the  vessel  started  at  daybreak.  As  soon  as 
they  were  out  of  the  river  some  sail  was  also  got  on  her. 

Late  the  evening  before,  Arthur  had  handed  a  letter  to 
the  recruiting  officer  as  he  went  on  shore,  asking  him  to 
post  it  for  him  in  the  morning: — 

"My  dear  Uncle  and  Aunt, 

"This  is  written  on  board  the  steamer  bound 
with  recruits  for  the  British  Legion  in  Spain.    It  seems  to 


IN   SPAIN  21 

me  that  a  couple  of  years'  soldiering  will  do  me  more  good 
than  merely  strolling  about  the  country  with  a  knapsack  on 
my  back.  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  enlist  in  this  force  as 
I  came  up  to  Liverpool.  It  seemed  to  me  by  far  the  best 
way  of  keeping  me  out  of  mischief.  I  shall  see  a  new  country 
and  new  life,  and  no  doubt  shall  have  some  rough  work  to 
go  through.  I  thought  it  as  well  not  to  mention  my  in- 
tention to  you,  but  I  hope  that  you  will  not  disapprove  of 
it.  They  are  a  miscellaneous  lot  on  board,  but  a  few  good 
fellows  seem  to  be  among  them,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that 
I  shall  get  on  very  well.  I  don't  know  much  about  the 
rights  and  wrongs  of  this  quarrel  in  Spain,  but  I  suppose 
that  as  the  Legion  is  supported  by  the  government,  I  am 
on  the  right  side. 

"At  any  rate,  the  little  queen  is  a  child,  and  there  is 
more  satisfaction  in  fighting  for  her  than  there  would  be 
for  a  king.  We  don't  look  like  fighting  men  at  present, 
but  I  suppose  we  shall  brighten  up  presently;  and  as  a  first 
step  they  have  served  out  to  each  of  us  a  slop  dress,  which 
gives  us  a  uniform  sort  of  appearance,  and  we  certainly  look 
more  respectable  than  we  did  yesterday  when  I  came  on 
board.  I  expect  we  shall  take  to  fighting  presently.  I  am 
making  fun  of  it,  because  I  suppose  it  is  my  nature  to  do 
so ;  but  for  all  that,  I  am  really  very  sorry  that  I  have  given 
you  so  much  trouble,  and  I  expect  to  be  steadier  by  the  time 
I  come  back  again.  I  have  enlisted  for  two  years,  but  if  I 
like  the  life  I  shall  keep  on  at  it  till  I  come  of  age — that  is, 
if  I  do  not  get  cut  off  by  a  bullet.  I  shall  send  you  letters 
when  I  get  the  chance,  but  you  must  not  expect  them  regu- 
larly, for  I  fancy  we  shall  have  very  few  opportunities  for 
posting  them.  Please  give  my  love  to  the  girls,  and  say 
I  will  bring  them  home  some  Spanish  mantillas  and  things 
when  I  come  back.  «Wit]b  much  ^  j  remain> 

"  Your  affectionate  Nephew." 

The  voyage  was  without  incident.  The  sea  was  never 
really  rough,  but  the  greater  portion  of  the  men  were  des- 


22  WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION 

perately  ill.  Arthur,  however,  felt  perfectly  well,  and  en- 
joyed the  voyage;  laughing  and  chatting  with  the  old  sol- 
diers, helping  the  sick  as  well  as  he  could,  and  relishing  his 
food — only  Roper  and  himself  being  able  to  partake  of  the 
meals.  On  the  fifth  day  after  starting  the  steamer  came  in 
sight  of  land.  The  sick  men  were  now  beginning  to  recover, 
and  all  came  up  on  deck  to  look  at  it,  and  cheerfulness  suc- 
ceeded the  late  depression.  At  mid-day  they  entered  the 
creek  upon  which  stood  the  town  of  Santander,  and  crowded 
boats  assembled  round  the  ship  as  she  dropped  anchor  three 
miles  higher  up  at  the  village  of  Astellero.  Before  the  force 
landed,  muskets  and  bayonets  were  served  out,  together  with 
belts. 

The  next  day  drilling  began,  or  rather  was  supposed  to 
begin;  but  as  the  men  had  all  got  their  bounty,  and  some  of 
them  the  money  for  which  they  had  sold  their  clothes,  most 
of  them  spent  their  time  in  the  wine-shops,  and  a  large  pro- 
portion of  them  were  helplessly  drunk.  Their  regular  uni- 
forms had  now  been  served  out  to  them,  but  it  was  only  this 
that  showed  them  to  be  soldiers.  Arthur  and  his  companion 
were  among  those  who  for  the  first  few  days  attended  drill. 
They  were  both  put  in  the  same  company;  and  as  their  cap- 
tain was  an  old  officer,  and  did  his  best  to  get  his  men  into 
order,  they  very  quickly  picked  up  the  rough  drill,  which 
was  at  present  all  that  could  be  expected;  and  before  they 
had  been  there  a  fortnight  they  were  both  appointed  cor- 
porals. By  this  time  most  of  the  men  had  spent  all  their 
money.  The  drill  therefore  became  well  attended,  and  the 
motley  crowd  began  to  have  the  appearance  of  soldiers.  Two 
or  three  other  transports  had  now  come  in,  and  the  number 
in  camp  had  swollen  largely. 

Insubordination  was  punished  severely  by  the  unstinted 
use  of  the  cat,  and  this  caused  the  men  to  appreciate  the 
fact  that  they  were  no  longer  their  own  masters.  Even  the 
sergeants  were  able  to  sentence  evil-doers  to  four  dozen 
lashes,  and  as  they  were  always  moving  about  among  the 


IN   SPAIN  23 

men,  these  comparatively  minor  floggings  had  more  influence 
in  sobering  them  than  the  very  severe  sentences  inflicted  by 
the  regular  court-martials.  The  colonel,  Godfrey,  was  an 
excellent  officer  for  the  post.  He  could,  when  necessary,  be 
very  severe,  but  his  manner  was  mild,  and  he  avoided  pun- 
ishment unless  it  was  absolutely  necessary,  in  which  case  he 
showed  no  mercy.  He  was  liked  by  the  men,  who  generally 
spoke  of  him  as  "  Daddy." 

Ten  days  after  landing  a  steamer  came  in  to  fetch  the 
troops  to  the  town  of  Bilbao.  Coming  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Bilbao  river,  it  was  found  dangerous  to  enter.  A  heavy 
swell  was  running,  and  a  large  barque  was  at  the  time 
going  to  pieces  on  the  sands.  The  steamer  was  therefore 
sent  back  to  Castri,  twelve  miles  away.  Here  the  force  was 
landed  and  quartered  in  a  convent,  and  the  next  day  a  com- 
pany of  the  9th  Regiment  came  down  to  escort  them  through 
the  mountains,  as  ammunition  had  not  yet  been  served  out, 
and  Carlists  were  known  to  be  in  the  hills. 

The  people  of  this  place  were  civil  and  friendly,  and  the 
men  enjoyed  their  short  stay.  At  daybreak  next  morning  the 
troops  were  roused  early,  and  soon  they  were  collected  out- 
side the  town.  When  they  got  to  a  difficult  gorge  they  were 
halted  for  an  hour,  and  the  brigadier-general,  Colonel  Shaw, 
told  them  that  the  Carlists  were  in  their  neighbourhood,  and 
that  they  must  be  perfectly  steady  and  quiet  if  fire  were 
opened  upon  them.  However,  they  met  with  no  enemies,  and 
after  a  march  of  about  twenty  miles  they  got  to  Portugalete, 
where  they  were  to  stay  for  some  time.  The  work  was  hard, 
the  drill  continuous.  The  natives  here  were  hostile,  and 
several  of  the  men  were  stabbed  in  the  streets. 

The  people  throughout  Northern  Spain  were,  as  a  rule, 
bitterly  hostile;  the  province  was  semi-independent,  with  a 
republican  form  of  government,  and  the  peasantry  entirely 
under  the  control  of  their  grandees  and  priests.  They  cared 
little  about  the  succession,  but  a  great  deal  about  their  privi- 
leges. The  government  wished  to  deprive  them  of  some  of 


WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION 

these  privileges,  and  to.  make  them  contribute  a  fair  share 
toward  the  revenue  of  the  country.  Don  Carlos,  on  the 
other  hand,  had  promised  to  support  their  ancient  rights, 
and  for  these  they  were  all  ready  to  fight.  He  had  also  a 
certain  following  in  the  southern  provinces,  for  the  ancient 
law  in  Spain  prevented  females  from  ascending  the  throne. 
Ferdinand  had  before  his  death  abrogated  this  law,  and 
appointed  as  his  successor  his  little  girl  Isabella,  but  Don 
Carlos,  who  was  the  next  male  heir,  protested  against  this 
change  of  law,  and  claimed  the  sovereignty  himself. 

To  add  to  the  confusion  that  reigned  throughout  the  coun- 
try, the  government  of  the  regent  was  hopelessly  corrupt. 
The  ministers  had  all  their  own  hangers-on — their  generals 
whom  they  wished  to  push  forward,  their  own  avaricious 
schemes  to  realize;  and  the  consequence  was  that,  so  far, 
the  Carlists  had  more  than  held  their  own. 

The  latter  were  thorough  fighters,  able  to  march  long  dis- 
tances, and  to  strike  heavy  blows  where  they  were  least  ex- 
pected. Their  leader,  Zumalacarreguy,  had  so  far  baffled 
Mina,  and  inflicted  heavy  losses  upon  him.  The  war  was 
conducted  with  terrible  ferocity,  little  quarter  being  given 
on  either  side,  although  the  British  government  had  inter- 
vened, and  induced  both  parties  to  sign  a  convention  by 
which  they  agreed  to  conduct  the  war  on  more  humane  prin- 
ciples. Zumalacarreguy  had  but  some  eight  thousand  men, 
but  was  able  in  case  of  need  to  add  largely  to  these.  The 
queen's  party  had  twenty-three  thousand,  but  of  these  nine 
thousand  were  locked  up  in  garrison  towns.  Mina  was 
thwarted  by  the  ministry  of  war  at  Madrid,  and  hampered 
by  the  fact  that  the  Carlists  had  spies  in  every  village,  who 
reported  the  movements  of  his  troops  to  the  enemy.  His 
cruelty,  too,  drove  numbers  of  those  who  would  otherwise 
have  remained  neutral,  to  the  Carlist  side. 

From  the  day  on  which  he  landed  at  Santander,  Arthur 
had  devoted  every  spare  moment  to  the  study  of  Spanish, 
and  he  found  that  his  Latin  helped  him  considerably.  He 


IN   SPAIN  550 

had  made  the  acquaintance  of  an  Irish  priest,  who  was  glad 
to  add  to  his  scanty  stipend  by  teaching  him  Spanish,  for 
which  purpose  Arthur  had  drawn  a  small  sum  from  his  store. 

The  time  passed  slowly  at  Portugalete. 

"  It  is  all  very  well  for  you,  Hallett,"  Jack  Koper  said,  "  to 
be  grinding  away  at  Spanish,  but  I  don't  see  that  it  will  do 
us  much  good.  I  know  that  you  have  made  up  your  mind 
to  get  a  commission  as  soon  as  you  can.  I  should  not  care 
about  having  one  even  if  I  could  get  it.  As  far  as  I  can 
see,  the  berth  of  a  non-commissioned  officer  is  as  comfortable 
as  that  of  a  colonel.  He  has  no  responsibility  as  long  as  he 
does  his  work  all  right,  and  he  has  none  of  the  anxiety  that 
the  officers  experience.  I  never  was  any  hand  at  learning, 
beyond  reading  and  writing,  which  were  necessary  to  me  as 
a  clerk.  I  came  out  here  for  the  fun  of  the  thing,  and  mean 
to  get  as  much  amusement  out  of  it  as  I  can;  though  I 
cannot  say  that  the  fun  has  begun  yet.  This  beastly  con- 
vent is  like  an  ice-house,  and  we  don't  even  get  good  rations. 
No  wonder  the  men  are  going  sick  in  dozens." 

"No;  we  might  do  better  there  certainly.  I  suppose  it 
will  be  all  right  later  on,  when  we  get  a  little  straight.  At 
present  there  is  no  doubt  that  there  is  a  good  deal  to  be 
desired." 

Even  to  his  chum,  Arthur  had  not  mentioned  his  reserve 
of  twenty-five  pounds.  He  thought  it  probable  that  the  time 
would  come  when  it  would  be  of  great  use  to  him,  and  he 
resolved  to  keep  it  intact  as  long  as  he  could.  When  not 
busy  at  drill,  or  working  at  the  language,  Arthur  maintained 
his  high  spirits,  and  he  and  his  chum  took  a  large  share  in 
keeping  the  men  of  their  company  in  a  good  temper.  Ten 
days  after  arriving  at  Portugalete  the  regiment  moved  up 
to  Bilbao  with  the  10th  Regiment,  and  both  were  quartered 
in  a  huge  convent  which  had  been  abandoned.  The  view 
from  here  was  magnificent,  rich  pasture  covering  the  lofty 
hills  to  their  summits. 

General  Evans  had  now  arrived.     He  was  the  beau  ideal 


26  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

of  a  soldier,  handsome,  with  a  dark  complexion  and  black 
moustache;  his  face  was  thoughtful  in  repose  but  bright  and 
animated  in  movement.  Five  feet  ten  inches  in  height,  and 
well  built,  he  rode  good  horses,  and  always  placed  himself  at 
the  post  of  danger.  Unfortunately  he  had  too  much  kind- 
ness of  manner  and  tried  to  please  everyone.  As  a  rule  he 
mitigated  sentences  of  courts-martial,  and  objected  to  the 
shooting  of  anyone;  but  he  suffered  his  soldiers  to  die  in 
thousands  rather  than  importune  the  Spanish  government. 

The  force  now  marced  to  Vittoria,  and  reached  that  town 
without  serious  fighting,  though  they  had  a  little  skirmish- 
ing by  the  way.  Here  they  were  fated  to  remain  for  some 
months.  The  life  was  monotonous,  the  town  crowded  with 
troops,  the  arrangements  of  all  kinds  detestably  bad.  Sick- 
ness began  to  attack  great  numbers,  owing  to  the  bad  food 
and  the  insanitary  condition  of  the  quarters  assigned  to 
them.  The  whole  Legion  were  assembled  at  Vittoria,  and  for 
some  weeks,  beyond  marching  out  and  back  to  the  town,  they 
had  no  employment.  One  day,  two  months  after  their  arrival 
there,  the  officer  who  had  spoken  to  Arthur  when  he  first 
went  on  board  the  ship  at  Liverpool  sent  for  him. 

"  Hallett,"  he  said,  "  I  have  watched  you  closely  since  you 
joined.  Your  conduct  has  been  excellent.  I  have  spoken 
to  the  colonel  about  it,  and  he  in  turn  has  spoken  to  General 
Evans.  A  number  of  officers  have  already  either  gone  home 
sick  or  died,  and  he  has  been  pleased  to  grant  you  a  com- 
mission, to  which  I  am  sure  you  will  do  credit.  I  will  take 
you  now  to  the  colonel,  who  will  formally  acquaint  you  with 
the  change  in  your  position,  and  I  am  glad  to  know  that 
you  will  be  appointed  to  my  company.  I  hear  that  you  have 
been  working  hard  at  Spanish,  and  that  you  can  already  get 
on  very  fairly  with  it.  This  will,  of  course,  be  a  great  ad- 
vantage to  you,  and  I  recommend  you  to  continue  the  study 
until  you  can  speak  the  language  fluently." 

"I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you,  sir,"  Arthur  said.  "I  can 
assure  you  that  I  will  do  my  best  to  deserve  your  kind  recom- 
mendation." 


IN   SPAIN  27 

"Not  at  all.  You  have  fairly  earned  your  commission. 
That  you  were  a  gentleman,  I  saw  at  once  when  I  first  met 
you,  and  noted  you  down  for  promotion  when  a  vacancy 
should  occur.  I  shall  certainly  be  a  gainer  by  the  trans- 
action, for  Mauleverer  was  practically  of  no  use  to  me;  and 
I  was  not  sorry  when  he  went  off.  Now,  if  you  will  come 
with  me  to  the  colonel,  who  has  himself  noticed  your  smart- 
ness and  activity,  we  will  get  the  formal  part  of  the  business 
over." 

Colonel  Godfrey  was  in  the  room  with  the  majority  of  his 
officers. 

"  I  am  glad  to  say,  Mr.  Hallett,"  he  began,  "  that  General 
Evans  has  bestowed  a  commission  upon  you.  I  am  sure  you 
will  do  credit  to  it,  and  we  shall  all  gladly  welcome  you 
\  among  us.  A  man  who  has  proved  himself  so  attentive  to 
his  duty  on  every  occasion  should  certainly  make  a  good 
officer.  You  will  be  attached  to  Captain  Buller's  company." 

The  officers  all  shook  hands  with  their  new  comrade,  and 
his  own  captain  expressed  great  satisfaction  at  his  promo- 
tion. "  Although,"  he  said,  "  I  myself  shall  be  a  loser  by  it." 

"  By  the  way,"  Captain  Buller  said,  "  fortunately  for  you 
young  Barkley  died  yesterday,  and  the  best  thing  that  you 
can  do  is  to  take  over  his  uniform.  There  are  no  means  of 
sending  it  down,  and  no  one  will  dispute  the  possession  of 
it  with  you.  Certainly  it  will  be  of  no  use  to  his  friends, 
and  you  may  be  sure  that  during  the  next  twenty-four  hours 
it  would  be  stolen.  I  will  go  with  you  at  once,  and  order 
Peter,  his  servant,  to  hand  it  over  to  you. 

"  He  had  a  very  good  horse  too.  You  may  as  well  take 
possession  of  that  also.  I  will  advance  you,  if  you  like,  five 
pounds,  which  you  can  give  to  the  paymaster,  who  will  hand 
it,  with  his  arrears  of  pay,  to  the  poor  fellow's  relatives.  It 
is  as  well  to  put  the  thing  on  a  legitimate  footing." 

"  Thank  you  very  much,  Captain  Buller,  but  I  have  money 
enough  to  pay  for  it." 

"  All  the  better,"  the  officer  said. 


28  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

The  captain  went  with  him  and  saw  that  he  got  the  uni- 
form. "  I  should  think  you  could  not  do  better  than  take 
on  the  servant.  He  is  a  good  man,  and,  between  ourselves, 
too  good  for  the  poor  fellow  who  has  gone.  He  is  an  Irish- 
man." 

He  opened  the  door  and  called  "  Peter !  " 

"  Peter,"  he  said,  "  Mr.  Hallett  is  now  one  of  my  ensigns, 
and  he  will  take  you  on  if  you  like." 

"  Sure  and  I  would  like  it,  your  honour.  I  was  wonder- 
ing if  I  should  have  to  go  into  the  ranks  again,  and  it  is 
rather  a  dale  I'd  stop  as  I  am." 

"  Mr.  Hallett  has  arranged  to  take  over  your  late  master's 
things,  and  to  buy  his  horse,  and  will  of  course  occupy  his 
room,  so  that  you  will  find  no  difference  in  your  duties." 

"  Well,  sor,  it  will  make  no  difference  to  me,  and  what  dif- 
ference there  is  will  be  for  the  better.  Lieutenant  Barkley 
was  a  kind  gentleman,  but  he  was  very  soft,  sir,  and  was 
always  ailing.  I  have  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Hallett  will  be  a 
good  gentleman  to  serve  under,  for  there  is  no  man  better 
liked  in  the  regiment." 

Left  to  himself  Arthur  at  once  changed  his  uniform.  His 
new  one,  he  found,  fitted  him  as  well  as  if  it  had  been  made 
for  him.  Then  he  went  down  to  the  stables  and  looked  at 
his  purchase.  It  was  in  somewhat  poor  condition,  but  a  fine 
animal. 

"  See  that  he  has  plenty  of  forage,"  he  said  to  the  soldier. 
"  He  evidently  wants  more  than  he  gets.  You  had  better  buy 
him  some  in  the  town  every  day  till  he  gets  into  good  con- 
dition." 

"  He  is  just  wearying  for  work,  your  honour.  Mr.  Barkley 
was  not  famous  on  horseback,  and  when  he  had  to  march  he 
generally  led  his  horse  a  good  part  of  the  way;  and  he  was 
not  out  on  him  more  than  half  a  dozen  times  since  we  landed 
six  months  ago." 

Then  Arthur  went  out  to  the  convent  yard.  Roper  at 
once  came  up  to  him  and  saluted.  "  So  you  have  gone  up, 
sir.  I  felt  sure  you  would." 


IN    SPAIN  29 

"Yes,  Roper,  and  I  wish  you  would  come  up  too." 

"It  would  never  have  done,  sir.  I  make  a  pretty  good 
non-commissioned  officer,  and  manage  not  to  get  drunk  till 
I  am  off  duty,  but  I  am  not  fit  to  be  an  officer,  and  should 
have  said  so  at  once  if  they  had  asked  me.  I  shall  miss  you 
badly,  but  I  shall  probably  see  you  every  day,  and  I  mean 
to  make  an  exchange  into  your  company  if  I  can  manage  it." 

"  I  will  speak  to  Captain  Buller  about  it.  I  have  no  doubt 
he  will  be  willing  enough  to  exchange  you.  However, 
whether  or  not,  we  can  always  be  friends." 

"You  may  be  sure  of  that,  sir." 

It  was  now  lunch  time,  and  Arthur  went  into  the  mess- 
room,  where  he  received  hearty  congratulations,  and  soon 
settled  down  in  his  place. 

That  evening  he  wrote  a  long  letter  to  his  aunt  telling  her 
of  his  promotion.  "  I  think,"  he  concluded,  "  that  it  will  not 
be  long  before  we  move.  We  have  a  fairly  large  body  of 
troops  here  now,  Spanish  as  well  as  ourselves.  Why  we  have 
not  moved  before  this,  is  more  than  I  can  make  out,  but  I 
suppose  the  big-wigs  know.  When  we  do  begin,  I  hope  we 
shall  go  on  in  earnest,  for  this  delay  is  very  trying.  The 
hospitals  here  are  all  full  of  sick,  and  nothing  would  do  us 
so  much  good  as  to  have  a  sharp  brush  with  the  enemy." 

Most  of  the  officers  found  life  at  Vittoria  terribly  dull, 
but  to  Arthur  the  time  passed  pleasantly  enough.  He  spent 
two  or  three  hours  a  day  working  hard  at  Spanish,  and  he 
went  every  morning  to  a  teacher  of  fencing,  reasoning  that 
as  the  sword  was  now  his  weapon  he  ought  to  be  able  to  use 
it.  Some  of  the  officers  were  inclined  to  laugh  at  the  time 
he  expended  on  study  and  exercise,  but  he  retorted  that  it 
was  a  good  deal  more  pleasant  than  sitting  in  cafes  trying 
to  kill  time.  But,  indeed,  there  was  plenty  to  do.  The  hard- 
ships suffered  by  the  troops  were  extreme ;  no  pay  was  forth- 
coming; the  amount  of  rations  served  out  was  barely  suf- 
ficient to  keep  life  together.  The  quarters  assigned  to  them 
were  bitterly  cold,  and  they  suffered  terribly  throughout  the 


30  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION" 

winter.  Hundreds  died ;  thousands  were  so  reduced  by  illness 
that  they  had  to  be  sent  down  to  the  sea-port,  where  very 
many  more  died;  large  numbers  were  invalided  home,  and 
but  a  comparatively  small  portion  ever  took  their  places 
again  in  the  ranks  of  the  Legion. 

The  officers  did  all  they  could  to  mitigate  the  sufferings 
of  the  men,  but  they,  too,  received  no  pay;  and,  except  in 
the  matter  of  quarters,  were  as  badly  off  as  the  others.  Some 
of  them  who  were  men  of  fortune  were  able  to  get  little 
comforts  for  the  sick;  the  rest  could  only  show  their  sym- 
pathy by  visiting  them,  and  talking  cheeringly  to  them. 
And,  indeed,  the  disgust  and  fury  of  the  men  were  so  great 
that,  had  they  received  orders  to  do  so,  they  would  joyfully 
have  set  out  on  the  march  south,  cut  their  way  through  the 
Carlists  and  Christines  alike,  and  made  at  least  an  effort  to 
overthrow  the  government  that  had  broken  all  its  engage- 
ments to  them  and  left  them  to  die  like  dogs.  What  still 
more  enraged  them  was,  that  while  all  this  time  they  were 
left  to  starve,  the  magazines  of  the  Spanish  troops  were  full, 
and  the  men  well  fed  and  clothed. 

With  spring  there  was  a  slight  improvement  in  matters. 
The  remonstrances  of  the  British  general  and  the  British 
government  had  had  some  slight  effect.  A  small  amount  of 
pay  was  issued,  and  rations  were  served  out  with  a  little  more 
regularity. 

There  was  joy  in  every  heart  when  it  became  known  that 
the  long  period  of  inactivity  had  come  to  an  end,  and  that 
a  move  was  about  to  be  made.  As  long  as  they  formed  part 
of  the  force  commanded  by  the  Spanish  general,  Cordova, 
they  felt  that  nothing  could  be  done.  The  Carlists  occupied 
the  hills  round  Vittoria,  and  at  times  sent  parties  almost  up 
to  the  town,  but  nothing  could  arouse  Cordova  from  his 
lethargy,  or  induce  him  to  make  any  serious  efforts  to  dis- 
lodge the  enemy.  He  was,  it  was  reported,  going  to  co- 
operate with  General  Evans  by  attacking  the  rear  of  the 
Carlists,  while  the  Legion  was  to  attempt  to  drive  them 


IN   SPAIN  31 

back  from  the  strong  positions  they  occupied  outside  San 
Sebastian;  but  both  officers  and  men  scoffed  at  the  idea  that 
Cordova  would  move  out  of  Vittoria,  and  the  general  opinion 
was  that  the  Legion  would  do  better  if  it  relied  upon  its  own 
fighting  powers  rather  than  upon  any  Spanish  co-operation. 

By  this  time  the  mob  of  men  who  composed  the  Legion 
had  been,  by  incessant  drill,  converted  into  soldiers,  who  only 
wanted  a  baptism  of  fire  to  take  their  place  side  by  side  with 
veterans.  In  point  of  appearance  they  were  not  much  to 
look  at.  The  clothes  in  which  for  nearly  six  months  they 
had  lived  and  slept  were  almost  in  rags,  but  their  bearing 
was  erect.  Suffering  had  set  a  stern  expression  on  their 
faces,  and  General  Evans,  as  they  marched  out  from  Vittoria, 
felt  that  they  could  be  thoroughly  relied  on.  Many  who  had 
just  recovered  from  sickness  were  still  thin  and  feeble,  and 
really  unfit  for  work,  but  all  who  could  possibly  accompany 
the  force  had  obtained  their  release  from  hospital,  and  were 
the  envy  of  many  hundreds  of  their  comrades  who  were  in- 
capable of  moving,  and  of  whom  the  greater  part  were  des- 
tined never  to  leave  Vittoria. 

As  the  Carlists  lay  between  Vittoria  and  San  Sebastian, 
the  force  was  compelled  to  march  down  to  Santander.  The 
men  enjoyed  the  change;  the  fresh  warm  breezes  of  spring 
reanimated  them.  Many,  it  was  true,  were  forced  to  lag 
behind,  but  most  of  these  afterwards  rejoined,  though  some 
were  murdered  by  the  peasantry,  who  were,  to  a  man,  hostile. 
A  strong  rear-guard,  however,  moved  slowly  behind  the 
column,  collecting  those  who  had  fallen  by  the  way,  and  only 
arriving  at  Santander  twenty-four  hours  after  the  rest.  As 
soon  as  the  head  of  the  column  reached  Santander  they  were 
taken  on  board  ship.  There  was  only  sufficient  transport  to 
carry  half  the  Legion,  but  the  distance  was  short,  and  in 
four  days  half  the  force  were  assembled  at  San  Sebastian. 

All  felt  that  the  change  from  Vittoria  was  a  pleasant  one. 
San  Sebastian  stands  at  the  extremity  of  a  low  sandy  tongue 
of  land  washed  on  the  east  by  the  Urumea,  and  on  the  north 


32  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

and  west  by  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  and  attached  to  the  mainland 
only  on  the  south  by  a  narrow  isthmus.  It  was  strong  both 
by  nature  and  art,  being  defended  by  walls  and  bastions,  and 
almost  free  from  the  possibility  of  attack  on  the  sea  or  river 
faces  by  the  fact  that,  except  at  low  tide,  there  was  scarce 
room  for  troops  to  be  landed  near  the  foot  of  the  walls.  The 
town  had  been  almost  destroyed  by  being  fired  by  the  French 
in  the  memorable  siege  of  1813,  when  it  cost  the  British 
nearly  fifteen  thousand  men  in  killed  and  wounded  to  capture 
it.  The  fire  had  been  a  great  advantage  to  it,  for  the  narrow 
streets  and  alleys  had  been  swept  away  and  replaced  by  broad 
streets  and  well-built  houses.  The  inhabitants  here  were 
divided  in  their  sympathies,  the  mercantile  classes  being  with 
the  Christines. 

The  heights  beyond  the  end  of  the  low  peninsula  were 
occupied  by  the  Carlists  in  great  force.  Their  motive  in 
thus  wasting  their  strength  when  they  might  have  been  better 
employed  in  the  field  was  not  very  clear  to  Arthur  and  his 
brother  officers.  It  was  certain  that  they  could  not  carry 
the  place  by  assault;  and  as  the  sea  was  open  to  its  de- 
fenders, it  was  equally  impossible  for  them  to  reduce  it  by 
hunger. 

The  place  showed  few  signs  of  being  beleaguered.  The 
town  was  full,  as  it  contained  many  refugee  families  from 
the  surrounding  country.  The  shops  were  well  filled  with 
goods.  In  the  evening  the  promenades  were  thronged  with 
well-dressed  people,  who  paraded  up  and  down  to  the  strains 
of  military  music.  The  cafes  were  crowded,  and  everywhere 
there  was  an  appearance  of  life  and  animation.  The  people 
viewed  with  astonishment  the  ragged  appearance  of  the  regi- 
ment as  they  landed,  and  many  small  kindnesses  were  shown 
to  them.  The  effect  of  the  sea  air  and  the  bright  sun  did 
much  for  the  troops,  and  in  a  week  after  their  arrival  they 
had  so  far  smartened  themselves  up  that  they  made  a  decent 
show.  The  officers  fraternized  with  those  of  the  ships  of 
war,  and  although  its  numbers  were  sadly  thinned  since  its 


IN   SPAIN  33 

arrival  in  Spain,  the  Legion  had  recovered  much  of  its 
jauntiness  and  self-confidence. 

"  This  is  a  glorious  change,"  Arthur  said  to  one  of  his 
comrades,  as  they  leant  on  the  battlements  and  looked  out 
over  the  sea.  A  good  many  ships  were  in  the  port,  some  of 
them  transports,  others  laden  with  stores;  and  the  sounds 
of  music  in  the  town  came  to  their  ears.  "  One  begins  to 
feel  that  after  all  one  did  not  make  a  great  mistake  in  en- 
tering the  Legion — not  that  I  have  ever  greatly  repented 
the  step.  I  have  been  most  fortunate  in  getting  promotion. 
I  have  come  to  speak  Spanish  decently,  and  I  have  certainly 
learnt  how  to  fence." 

"  I  don't  see  that  the  last  part  is  likely  to  be  of  much  use, 
Hallett.  When  one  does  get  into  a  hand-to-hand  fight  I  don't 
expect  one  has  much  time  to  think  of  the  niceties  of  fencing. 
One  just  hits  out  as  one  can." 

"  Yes,  if  one  is  not  a  thorough  good  fencer ;  but  if  one  is 
not,  he  finds  it  more  natural  to  strike  a  downright  blow  than 
to  thrust.  Besides,  I  don't  know  that  I  have  learnt  fencing 
so  much  in  order  to  defend  myself  as  because  it  is  a  fine 
exercise  in  itself.  It  strengthens  all  one's  muscles  amazingly, 
and  at  Vittoria  it  enabled  one,  two  or  three  hours  a  day,  to 
forget  all  the  misery  that  was  being  suffered  by  the  men. 
Last,  and  I  may  say  not  least,  of  its  advantages  is  that  it  will 
enable  one  to  fight.  I  am  not  thinking  of  fighting  battles, 
but  of  duels.  I  observed  from  the  first  a  great  many  of  these 
Spanish  officers  seem  to  treat  us  in  a  very  cavalier  sort  of 
manner,  which  is  a  thing  that  I  do  not  feel  at  all  inclined 
to  put  up  with.  I  believe  most  Spanish  gentlemen  learn  to 
fence  as  a  matter  of  course.  I  don't  know  whether  it  is  so, 
but  so  I  have  been  told,  and  I  was  determined  to  be  able  to 
give  any  one  of  them  a  lesson  if  he  attempted  any  imperti- 
nence towards  me.  My  master  at  Vittoria  said,  before  I 
came  away,  that  I  had  become  a  very  strong  fencer — as 
strong,  indeed,  as  any  pupil  he  had  ever  had,  and  that  it  was 
quite  astonishing  that  I  should  have  learned  so  much  in  the 


WITH  THE  BBITISH  LEGION 

course  of  four  or  five  months.  I  have  already  engaged  an- 
other master  here,  and  I  mean  to  stick  to  him  till  I  feel 
that  I  can  hold  my  own  with  anyone." 

"If  you  can  do  it  in  skill,  I  should  say  that  you  could 
certainly  do  it  in  strength,  Hallett ;  you  look  as  if  you  were 
made  of  whip-cord.  You  have  got  height,  a  good  pair  of 
shoulders,  and  any  amount  of  activity.  You  have  broad- 
ened out  amazingly  since  I  first  saw  you,  and  I  should  cer- 
tainly say  that  you  would  be  an  awkward  customer  to  any 
of  these  dons,  who  are,  for  the  most  part,  in  spite  of  all 
their  swagger,  an  undersized  lot." 

"Yes,  they  have  certainly  not  much  to  boast  of  in  the 
way  of  strength;  with  a  few  exceptions,  I  would  not  mind 
taking  on  any  two  of  them  with  one  arm  tied  behind  me." 

"  I  wish  I  had  given  up  three  hours  a  day,  all  the  time 
we  were  at  Vittoria,  working  at  their  language,  Hallett.  I 
see  that  you  have  gained  a  lot  by  it.  You  are  able  to  chat 
away  with  the  Spanish  officers  and  chaff  with  the  Spanish 
girls,  while  most  of  us  are  no  better  than  dummies.  Of 
course,  we  have  all  picked  up  a  few  phrases — some  compli- 
mentary, but  for  the  most  part  quite  the  reverse — as  a 
medium  in  our  conversation  with  the  natives,  but  they  don't 
go  far  in  polite  society,  though  they  do  assist  us  a  bit  when 
we  want  to  sharpen  up  some  of  these  mule-drivers  or  men 
with  the  waggons." 

"Why  don't  you  begin  to  learn  fencing?  It  will  occupy 
your  time  anyhow,  though  I  don't  say  that  you  would  find 
it  as  useful  as  Spanish." 

"  I  will  think  of  it,  Hallett,  as  soon  as  this  fight  has  come 
off.  They  say  we  shall  attack  the  enemy's  lines  before  long. 
I  shall  not  have  time  to  learn  much  before  that,  and  I  may 
as  well  take  it  easily  till  then,  as  I  may  not  come  out  of  it 
alive.  I  was  looking  at  the  enemy  yesterday  from  the  other 
side  of  the  town.  They  seem  amazingly  strong.  I  can  see 
by  my  glasses  that  they  have  covered  the  whole  face  of  the 
hill  with  entrenchments  and  loopholed  all  the  houses,  and 


AN  ADVENTUKE  35 

I  think  these  Carlists  are  obstinate  fellows  and  will  fight 
hard." 

"Well,  I  do  hope  that  Evans  will  attack  as  soon  as  the 
whole  Legion  comes  up,  without  waiting  for  Cordova.  He  is 
a  hopeless  brute,  and  I  have  not  the  least  expectation  of  his 
setting  his  troops  in  motion  to  help  us." 

"  I  am  wholly  with  you,"  his  friend  said.  "  As  far  as  we 
have  seen  hitherto,  it  is  evident  that  if  there  is  any  fight- 
ing to  be  done  we  shall  have  to  do  it.  These  Christino 
commanders  seem  to  have  only  one  idea,  and  that  is  to 
avoid  an  engagement.  We  have  heard  that  Zumalacarreguy 
has  been  marching  about  capturing  towns,  collecting  spoil, 
and  playing  old  gooseberry  wherever  he  has  gone,  and  dodg- 
ing successfully  any  efforts  the  Christines  have  made  to 
bring  him  to  a  fight.  It  is  just  the  same  thing  round  Vit- 
toria.  That  brute  Cordova  stops  there  in  the  big  house 
that  he  has  taken  possession  of.  He  eats,  drinks,  and  enjoys 
himself,  but  as  for  marching  out  to  fight  the  Carlists,  the 
idea  seems  never  to  have  occurred  to  him.  Well,  it  is  time 
we  were  turning  back,  for  it  is  the  hour  for  the  promenade; 
and  I  must  say  that  I  like  looking  at  the  senoras  even  if  it 
is  beyond  my  power  to  talk  to  them." 


CHAPTER  III 

AN  ADVENTURE 

ARTHUR  found  his  knowledge  of  Spanish  very  useful 
to  him  at  San  Sebastian.  He  soon  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  many  of  the  young  men  of  the  town,  and  was 
invited  by  them  to  feasts  and  dances  at  their  houses,  where 
he  became  a  general  favourite  by  his  frankness  and  the  en- 
joyment with  which  he  entered  into  the  amusements.  Al- 
though he  could  converse  very  fairly  on  ordinary  subjects, 


36  WITH  THE  BKITISH  LEGION 

he  had  not  as  yet  learned  the  language  of  compliment,  and 
his  blunt  phrases  greatly  amused  the  Spanish  girls.  He  was 
indeed  far  more  awkward  with  them  than  with  their  broth- 
ers or  husbands.  Except  with  his  own  cousins,  who  were  a 
good  deal  younger  than  himself,  and  whom  he  had  never 
thought  of  complimenting  in  the  smallest  degree,  he  had 
never  known  anything  of  the  other  sex.  He  had  the  usual 
boyish  contempt  for  girls,  and  had  almost  regarded  them 
as  inferior  animals.  Consequently  he  was  quite  at  sea  with 
these  laughing,  black-eyed  senorettas,  with  their  fluttering 
fans,  their  pretty  gestures,  and  their  black  mantillas. 

"  Senor  Inglese,"  one  of  them  said  with  a  smile,  "  do  you 
know  that  you  are  a  very  rude  man  ?  " 

"I  am  shocked  to  hear  it,"  he  said.  "How  am  I  rude? 
I  admire  you  all,  but  I  can't  go  about  telling  you  so." 

"  We  don't  all  wish  to  be  admired,  senor ;  there  would  be 
no  satisfaction  if  you  admired  every  one;  but  we  do  all 
expect  pretty  speeches  nicely  and  delicately  put,  speeches 
which  without  meaning  much  would  imply  that  you  are 
wholly  at  our  service." 

"  I  am  afraid,  senoretta,  that  it  will  be  a  long  time  before 
my  Spanish  enables  me  to  do  that  sort  of  thing.  If  it  came 
to  the  question  of  putting  my  arm  round  your  waist  and 
giving  you  a  kiss,  I  could  manage  it,  but  to  pay  you  all  sorts 
of  compliments  is  quite  beyond  me." 

"It  would  not  do  at  all  for  you  to  behave  so  rudely  as 
that,  senor,"  the  girl  laughed ;  "  that  would  be  quite  an  un- 
known thing.  It  is  respectful  homage  that  we  require,  and 
such  homage  can  be  rendered  by  the  eyes  alone  without  its 
being  necessary  to  speak  it." 

Arthur  laughed.  "But  my  eyes  have  never  been  trained 
to  that  sort  of  expression,  senoretta,  and  I  should  no  more 
know  how  to  do  it  than  how  to  fly.  When  I  was  a  boy  I 
kissed  girls  under  the  mistletoe,  but  that  is  only  a  sort  of 
romp  and  goes  for  nothing.  I  do  not  think  that  I  have 
ever  paid  a  girl  a  compliment  in  my  life." 


AN   ADVENTUBE  37 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  the  mistletoe,  senor  ?  I  have  never 
heard  of  such  a  thing." 

Arthur  explained,  as  well  as  he  could,  the  mysteries  of 
this  vegetable. 

"  What ! "  she  exclaimed.  "  You  kiss  a  girl  in  sight  of 
other  people!  But  it  is  dreadful — it  is  barbarism!  No 
Spanish  girl  could  suffer  such  a  thing." 

"  I  fancy  you  would,  if  it  were  a  Spanish  custom,"  he 
laughed.  "  I  own  that  I  could  never  see  much  fun  in  it ; 
still,  it  was  one  of  the  things  that  you  were  expected  to  do 
at  Christmas.  However,  I  can  assure  you  that  I  have  no 
idea  of  introducing  the  custom  here ;  and  I  will  promise  you 
that  if  I  do  kiss  you  it  will  not  be  in  public." 

"  But  you  must  never  think  of  such  a  thing,"  the  girl  said, 
horrified.  "It  would  be  terrible!  No  girl  permits  a  man 
to  kiss  her  unless  he  is  affianced,  and  then  only  very,  very 
occasionally." 

"I  will  take  note  of  that,  senoretta,  and  will  wait  till  I 
am  affianced  before  I  begin." 

"  And  will  it  be  an  English  girl,  or  a  Spaniard  ? " 

"  An  English  girl,"  Arthur  said  bluntly.  "  I  do  not  say 
that  the  Spanish  girls  are  not  very  nice,  but  their  ways  are 
not  our  ways,  and  they  are  not  of  our  religion,  and  their 
friends  would  disapprove;  in  fact,  there  are  all  sorts  of  ob- 
jections." 

"You  think  them  prettier  than  we  are?"  the  girl  said, 
with  a  toss  of  her  head. 

"No,  senoretta,  I  do  not  say  that.  I  have  seen  many 
Spanish  girls  quite  as  pretty  as  English  girls,  but  it  is  a 
different  kind  of  beauty — one  that  we  are  not  accustomed 
to,  any  more  than  you  are  accustomed  to  the  appearance  and 
ways  of  an  Englishman.  The  two  races  are  like  oil  and 
water:  you  may  stir  them  about  as  much  as  you  like,  they 
never  really  mix." 

"I  suppose  that  is  so,"  she  said,  more  seriously  than  she 
had  spoken  before.  "  They  say  that  Englishmen  make  good 


38  WITH   THE   BKITISH  LEGION 

husbands,  and  that  they  are  not  jealous,  as  Spanish,  men 
are,  all  of  which  must  be  very  nice ;  still,  of  course  there  are 
drawbacks  to  them.  Well,  senor,  we  must  talk  this  over 
another  time,  for  here  is  my  cavalier  coming  to  claim  me 
for  the  next  dance." 

Arthur  was  chatting  with  a  young  Spanish  officer  whose 
acquaintance  he  had  made,  when  the  latter  said: 

"I  wish  I  could  go  up  those  hills  to-morrow.  I  have  an 
uncle  living  up  there.  He  is  a  Carlist,  and  he  has  a  pretty 
daughter  who  is  to  be  married  to  a  Carlist  officer  to-morrow 
evening.  I  would  give  a  good  deal  to  be  able  to  be  there, 
but  I  don't  see  how  it  is  to  be  managed.  I  might  get  there 
easily  enough,  for  I  could  borrow  a  small  boat  and  row 
up  the  Urumea  after  dusk,  land  beyond  their  outposts  and 
make  my  way  round  there ;  but,  of  course,  I  should  be  known 
when  I  got  there.  I  am  sure  my  uncle  would  be  very  glad 
to  see  me,  but  I  should  be  recognized  at  once  by  some  of  his 
friends." 

"You  might  disguise  yourself,"  Arthur  said.  "Put  on 
a  big  pair  of  false  moustachios,  and  of  course  dress  as  a 
civilian." 

"  I  dare  say  it  might  be  done,"  the  young  officer  said,  "  if 
I  had  somebody  to  go  with  me." 

"  It  would  be  a  great  lark,"  Arthur  said,  "  and  I  don't 
suppose  there  could  be  much  danger  in  it.  Even  if  you  were 
detected  they  would  hardly  make  a  row  at  a  wedding." 

"  No,  I  don't  suppose  I  should  be  hurt,  but  the  feeling 
between  the  two  parties  is  very  strong;  and,  as  you  know, 
quarter  is  very  seldom  given  on  either  side." 

"Yes,  your  methods  of  war  can  hardly  be  called  civilized, 
senor." 

As  they  stood  looking  at  the  hill,  Arthur  turned  the  mat- 
ter over  in  his  mind.  He  knew  that  the  general  was  very 
anxious  to  obtain  some  knowledge  of  the  Carlist  trenches 
and  fortifications.  If  he  were  to  volunteer  to  accompany 
this  officer  he  might  be  able  to  obtain  a  good  deal  of  infor- 


AN  ADVENTURE 

mation  on  the  subject.  To  do  so  he  would  be  obliged,  after 
the  wedding,  to  make  his  way  straight  down  the  hill  instead 
of  coming  back  to  the  boat,  but  this,  he  thought,  would  not 
be  so  very  difficult.  While  anyone  coming  up  the  hill  would 
be  closely  questioned,  it  was  hardly  likely  that  so  much  care 
would  be  taken  in  the  case  of  those  walking  down,  for  the 
Carlists  would  be  constantly  going  up  and  down  to  get  pro- 
visions from  the  villages.  There  should  be  no  difficulty  in 
getting  down  to  the  trenches  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  but  from 
there  one  would  have  to  run  the  gauntlet.  Still,  the  chances 
of  being  shot  in  the  dark  would  not  be  great,  and  the  infor- 
mation that  he  might  obtain  would  be  invaluable. 

After  thinking  it  over  for  a  minute  or  two,  he  said  to  his 
companion : 

"  I  have  never  seen  a  Spanish  wedding,  senor,  and  should 
certainly  like  to  do  so.  If  you  would  take  me  with  you,  I 
should  be  very  glad  to  accompany  you." 

"  Would  you  ?  "  the  young  fellow  said.  "  Well,  you  know, 
it  would  be  a  dangerous  business.  If  I  were  suspected,  I 
have  no  doubt  that  my  uncle  would  protect  me:  he  is  a 
colonel  in  their  service.  And  if  the  worst  were  to  happen,  I 
should  be  made  a  prisoner.  But  if  they  were  to  find  you 
out,  I  fear  that  they  would  show  you  no  mercy,  and  that 
even  my  uncle  would  not  be  able  to  save  you." 

"  I  don't  think  they  would  find  me  out,"  Arthur  said.  "  I 
can  talk  well  enough  to  pass  muster,  if  I  did  not  enter  into 
any  long  conversation,  which  I  could  take  care  not  to  do.  I 
should,  of  course,  keep  very  much  in  the  background,  as  you 
yourself  would  do,  I  suppose.  At  a  wedding  like  this  would 
not  a  good  many  officers  and  others  attend  who  are  not  in- 
timate friends  of  the  family  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes ;  my  uncle's  house  will  be  virtually  open  to  all 
comers.  I  shouldn't  speak  to  anyone  but  my  cousin,  who  is 
a  great  friend  of  mine,  and  I  should  manage  to  get  close 
enough  to  her  to  whisper  in  her  ear  who  I  am,  and  give  her 
my  good  wishes.  No,  I  don't  think  the  risk  can  be  very 


40  WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION 

great,  and  if  you  are  quite  in  earnest  I  should  be  glad  of 
your  company.  Mind,  if  there  is  a  row  you  will  have  to 
take  care  of  yourself,  and  I  shall  look  after  myself." 

"  Certainly.  I  understand  that  I  should  go  in  with  you 
and  do  as  you  do.  I  should  keep  in  the  background,  and  go 
quietly  off  at  the  end  of  the  evening.  If  by  any  chance  I 
am  discovered  I  should  simply  make  a  bolt  for  it.  The 
nights  are  dark,  and  as  I  am  a  pretty  good  runner  I  don't 
think  the  risk  of  being  overtaken  would  be  great." 

"Will  you  arrange  about  the  boat?  And  if  you  will  tell 
me  where  it  will  be  lying,  I  will  meet  you  there  to-morrow 
evening  at  any  time  you  like  to  name." 

"  It  will  be  quite  dark  by  seven,  and  we  will  start  at  that 
hour.  But  can  you  row?  I  own  that  I  cannot." 

"Yes,  I  can  row,"  Arthur  said.  "Now,  what  disguise 
would  you  advise  me  to  take  ?  " 

"Certainly  the  best  disguise  would  be  that  of  a  Carlist 
officer,  but  I  don't  know  how  it  will  be  possible  to  get  it. 
There  has  been  some  fighting  between  their  men  and  ours, 
and  a  good  many  have  been  killed  on  both  sides.  The  dead 
are  generally  stripped  by  ruffians  of  the  town,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  that  in  some  of  the  shops  in  the  poorer  quarters  some 
Carlist  uniforms  may  be  found.  Of  course,  they  are  not 
likely  to  be  exhibited  for  sale  now;  the  shopkeepers  will 
be  reserving  them  till  the  Carlists  come  in,  which  they  are 
sure  to  do  sooner  or  later.  My  soldier  servant  is  a  smart 
fellow.  I  will  send  him  down  this  afternoon  to  forage  about, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  will  succeed  in  getting  one  of 
medium  size  for  a  tall  man.  But  if  you  come  down  to  my 
quarters  this  evening  you  will  see  what  he  has  got ;  and  if  it 
is  not  large  enough  for  you,  I  have  no  doubt  it  can  easily  be 
altered  to  fit  you  properly." 

"  That  is  a  capital  idea,"  Arthur  said,  "  and  would  suit 
me  admirably.  Then  I  will  come  down,  as  you  say,  this  even- 
ing, and  see  how  your  man  has  succeeded." 

"It  will  be  a  rare  adventure,"  the  young  Spaniard  said. 


Atf   ADVENTUBE  41 

"I  told  my  cousin  months  ago  that  I  would  dance  at  her 
wedding,  and  as  things  were  growing  black  then,  she  laughed 
in  my  face  and  laid  me  a  wager  that  I  wouldn't.  It  will  be 
great  fun  letting  her  know  that  I  have  won." 

When  Arthur  went  to  the  Spanish  officer's  quarters  that 
evening  he  found  him  examining  two  uniforms  laid  out  on 
his  table. 

"  My  man  has  just  brought  these  in,"  he  said.  "  One  of 
them  will  fit  me  well  enough,  but  I  am  afraid  that  the  other 
will  never  meet  across  your  chest." 

The  coat  was  a  little  short  for  him,  but  this  was  not  very 
noticeable.  It  met  round  the  waist,  but  was  three  inches 
too  small  round  the  chest. 

"  I  can  get  that  altered  easily  enough.  Do  you  think  you 
can  borrow  a  sword  from  one  of  your  comrades?  You  can 
make  some  excuse  that  yours  has  gone  to  be  repaired,  as  the 
blade  has  come  out  of  the  hilt.  You  see,  the  pommels  of 
our  swords  are  so  different  from  yours  that  if  I  were  to  carry 
mine  it  would  lead  to  our  detection  at  once." 

"Yes;  no  doubt  I  can  borrow  one,  and  I  will  get  a  belt 
from  another  on  some  other  excuse." 

"  I  will  take  the  uniform  now.  Will  you  bring  the  sword 
and  belt  down  to  the  river?" 

"  Yes.  I  have  arranged  for  a  boat ;  it  will  be  at  the  San 
Nicola  steps  at  seven  in  the  evening.  Fortunately,  the  tide 
will  be  running  in  at  that  hour,  so  that  we  shall  be  able  to 
drift  past  the  Carlist  outposts,  and  of  course  it  will  be  run- 
ning out  again  by  the  time  we  come  back." 

"  Capital !  "  Arthur  said.  "  Everything  seems  to  be  with 
us,  and  it  will  be  an  adventure  to  laugh  about  for  a  long 
time." 

"It  will  indeed!"  the  other  said  gleefully.  "How  the 
fellows  of  my  regiment  will  envy  me  when  I  tell  them  where 
I  have  been!  But  how  about  our  faces?  Do  you  think  we 
can  buy  moustaches  ? " 

"  I  have  no  idea/'  Arthur  said.    "  If  we  can't,  I  intend  to 


42  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

buy  a  piece  of  fur  with  long  hair,  or  a  piece  of  fox  skin 
would  do,  and  cut  out  a  pair  of  moustaches  and  glue  them 
on;  I  am  sure  they  would  stand  any  casual  inspection.  And 
I  should  darken  my  face  and  hands  a  little :  I  am  rather  too 
fair  to  pass  observation.  As  no  one  would  know  me,  I  don't 
see  how  I  could  be  detected.  But  of  course  you  would  have 
to  alter  your  face  as  much  as  possible." 

"Yes.  Well,  you  see,  I  had  always  worn  my  hair  long, 
and  now  I  have  cut  it  quite  short.  I  have  not  got  much 
eyebrow,  and  I  will  put  a  few  dabs  of  fur  on,  so  as  to  make 
them  heavy;  draw  a  line  up  each  corner  above  the  nose,  so 
as  to  give  myself  a  scowl ;  and  I  should  get  my  man  to  make 
a  line  or  two  across  the  forehead.  I  think  like  that  I  should 
do.  People  don't  stare  much  at  each  other  on  such  occa- 
sions; their  attention  is  principally  occupied  with  looking 
at  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  and  the  ceremony." 

"  Very  well,  then.  To-morrow  evening  at  the  stairs  of 
San  Mcola." 

On  the  following  evening  Arthur  made  his  way  down  to 
the  river.  He  was  dressed  in  the  simple  uniform  of  the 
Carlist  officers,  which  consisted  of  a  tunic  and  a  red  Basque 
cap,  with  breeches  or  trousers  according  to  the  fancy  of  the 
wearer.  He  was  first  at  the  rendezvous,  but  five  minutes 
later  his  friend  Sebastian  Romero  arrived. 

"  You  have  not  been  here  long,  I  hope  ? "  the  latter  said. 
"I  was  kept  talking  by  the  major  just  as  I  wanted  to  dis- 
guise myself." 

"  No ;  I  have  only  been  here  a  few  minutes." 

"  The  boat  is  tied  to  a  stake.  I  don't  think  the  tide  has 
reached  her  yet." 

"No;  I  went  down  to  see  her  directly  I  got  here.  She 
will  be  afloat  in  a  few  minutes." 

In  five  minutes  they  were  off,  Sebastian  sitting  in  the  stern 
as  Arthur  took  the  sculls. 

"  I  will  row  across  to  the  other  side  at  once,"  Arthur  said ; 
"by  keeping  close  to  that  bank  we  shall  not  run  the  risk  of 


AN    ADVENTUKE  43 

being  detected  by  their  outposts  on  this  side.  I  can  row  for 
the  first  mile,  then  as  we  shall  be  nearly  opposite  them,  we 
can  drift  up  for  as  much  farther;  by  that  time  we  should  be 
beyond  their  lines,  and  can  cross  the  stream  and  land." 

"Yes,  I  think  so,"  the  other  agreed.  "We  have  to  get 
well  past  the  hill,  for  certainly  they  have  works  right  up 
to  the  top.  Of  course  we  can  see  them  through  our  glasses, 
but  the  ground  is  so  broken  with  walls,  gardens,  and  houses 
that  we  can't  exactly  see  where  their  strong  points  are,  and 
certainly  not  where  the  Carlists  are  most  strongly  posted. 
We  hear  such  different  accounts  from  the  country  people 
who  come  in,  that  we  cannot  believe  them  in  the  slightest, 
especially  as  we  know  that  they  are  Carlists  almost  to  a  man, 
and  would  naturally  try  to  deceive  us." 

With  steady  strokes  Arthur  rowed  along,  keeping  close 
under  the  bank  and  taking  care  to  avoid  making  a  splash. 
Presently  they  could  hear  a  murmur  of  talk  on  the  opposite 
bank,  and  he  stopped  rowing.  The  stream  was  running  up 
hard,  and  in  less  than  half  #n  hour  they  were  well  beyond 
the  Carlists'  lines.  Crossing  the  river  then,  they  landed  at 
a  spot  from  which  a  path  led  up  the  hill.  Sebastian  said 
that  his  uncle's  house  was  situated  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from  the  top. 

"  When  we  are  once  in  the  house,  Sebastian,  I  think  we 
had  better  not  keep  near  each  other;  then,  if  one  is  by  any 
chance  detected  the  other  can  make  a  bolt  for  it." 

"  Yes ;  I  think  we  might  as  well  keep  apart.  I  am  more 
likely  to  be  detected  than  you,  but  the  risk  of  discovery 
would  be  greater  for  you  than  for  me.  As  a  relative,  it 
would  be  thought  natural  that  I  should  wish  to  be  at  the 
wedding.  I  might  be  shot  by  the  Carlists,  but  my  uncle 
would  take  my  part,  and  at  any  rate  it  would  be  evident 
that  I  did  not  come  as  a  spy;  whereas,  if  you  were  caught 
it  would  be  very  awkward  for  you,  though  of  course  I  should 
say  that  you  came  as  my  friend,  and  had  no  idea  of  enter- 
ing their  lines.  Still,  it  would  be  very  awkward ;  and  if  you 


4:4  WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION" 

should  see  that  I  am  taken,  I  advise  you  to  slip  quietly  off 
at  once." 

Arthur,  however,  had  no  intention  of  remaining  any  time 
at  the  house  and  waiting  till  his  companion  was  ready  to 
leave,  for  the  latter  would  certainly  object  to  share  in  his 
own  plan  of  making  his  way  down  through  the  Carlist  lines. 
And  as  he  was  going  in  a  way  as  Sebastian's  guest,  he  could 
not  very  well  leave  him.  The  house  was  but  a  quarter  of  a 
mile,  his  friend  had  said,  from  the  upper  line  of  the  works ; 
and,  even  if  detected,  with  the  advantage  of  a  surprise  he 
could  easily  get  there  before  being  overtaken.  Not,  indeed, 
that  he  expected  to  be  pursued.  His  intention  was  to  slip 
away  quietly  soon  after  getting  to  the  house,  and  to  stroll 
down  to  the  lines,  where  it  was  improbable  in  the  extreme 
that  he  would  be  challenged. 

"  If  by  any  chance  I  should  not  turn  up,  Sebastian,  when 
you  want  to  come  away,  you  had  better  go  down  to  the  boat 
and  wait  there  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  then  push  off. 
You  may  not  be  able  to  row  much,  but  you  could  certainly 
manage  to  get  over  to  the  other  side,  and  then  you  would 
only  have  to  let  her  drift." 

"  Yes ;  but  there  can  be  no  reason  why  we  should  not  come 
away  together." 

"  Well,  you  see,  one  or  other  of  us  may  be  suspected,  and 
it  may  be  necessary  to  slip  off.  I  don't  say  that  it  is  likely  at 
all,  but  there  is  nothing  like  being  prepared  for  all  emer- 
gencies." 

After  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  walk  they  reached  the  house. 
It  was,  as  they  had  expected,  full  of  officers  and  friends. 
The  cer.emony  had  just  been  concluded,  and  many  were  go- 
ing up  to  the  bride  and  bridegroom  offering  their  congratu- 
lations. Music  was  being  played,  and  servants  were  handing 
round  refreshments.  Sebastian  joined  those  clustered  round 
the  newly-married  pair,  while  Arthur  mingled  with  those 
standing  in  groups  round  the  room.  He  had  scarcely  been 
there  a  minute  when  he  noticed  that  the  eyes  of  two  or  three 


AN   ADVENTUKE  45 

of  his  neighbors  were  fixed  upon  him  curiously.  Wonder- 
ing why  their  attention  should  be  attracted  to  him,  he  put 
his  hand  up  to  his  face,  and  to  his  horror  found  that  half 
his  moustache  was  gone.  He  had  become  warm  when  row- 
ing, and  this  had  doubtless  moistened  the  gum  with  which 
he  had  fastened  them  on  to  his  lip. 

He  at  once  made  for  the  door,  but  as  he  left  the  room  he 
glanced  round  and  saw  that  three  or  four  of  the  men  who 
had  observed  him  were  speaking  together  and  making  after 
him.  The  moment  he  was  outside  he  started  to  run.  He 
had  gone  but  twenty  yards  when  there  was  a  shout  behind 
him.  This  unexpected  discovery  had  altogether  upset  his 
plans.  He  had  calculated  on  being  able  to  stroll  quietly 
down  into  the  Carlist  lines.  Now  he  would  have  to  exert 
himself  to  the  utmost  to  get  there  before  his  pursuers,  who 
were  close  upon  him.  He  ran  at  the  top  of  his  speed,  look- 
ing round  once  or  twice  as  he  did  so.  He  gained  on  his  pur- 
suers, who,  now  convinced  that  there  was  something  wrong, 
exerted  themselves  to  the  utmost  to  overtake  him.  As  he 
neared  the  brow  of  the  hill  he  could  hear  talking  and  laugh- 
ing in  front  of  him,  and  soon  he  came  upon  a  line  of  fires 
round  which  soldiers  were  gathered.  His  pursuers  now, 
though  he  could  no  longer  see  them,  began  to  shout  loudly, 
"  A  spy,  a  spy !  Seize  him !  " 

For  a  moment  or  two  the  talk  by  the  fire  ceased,  and  the 
men  stood  listening  to  the  cries.  They  were  therefore  un- 
prepared for  action  when  Arthur  dashed  through  them — 
he  had  no  time  to  choose  a  place — and  knocked  over  two  or 
three  who  endeavoured  to  grasp  him.  In  a  moment  he  was 
running  down  the  hill  with  a  hundred  men  in  pursuit.  Pres- 
ently he  saw  a  high  embankment  ahead  of  him,  which  he 
knew  must  be  the  highest  point  of  the  defences.  He  ran 
up  it,  and,  when  he  reached  the  top,  jumped.  It  was  a  fall 
of  some  fifteen  feet,  but  the  ground  was  soft  where  he 
alighted,  and  picking  himself  up  he  ran  on.  He  had  not 
gone  fifty  yards  when  a  musket  was  fired  from  the  top  of 


4:6  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

the  embankment.  This  was  followed  by  a  dozen  others,  and 
the  fire  grew  into  a  roar.  Evidently  the  Carlists,  in  their 
bewilderment  as  to  what  had  happened,  were  firing  at  ran- 
dom. Presently  he  came  to  a  wall,  which  he  vaulted  over 
as  a  number  of  men  ran  up. 

"What  are  they  firing  about?" 

"Don't  you  see  it  is  a  Christino  surprise?"  he  said. 
"  Open  fire  at  once,  or  they  will  be  upon  you." 

Instantly  the  men  obeyed  his  orders.  Others  ran  up  and 
joined  them,  and  Arthur  strolled  quietly  away.  F"e  met 
numbers  of  men  running  up. 

"  Hurry  up,  hurry  up ! "  he  said.  "  The  Christines  have 
attacked  us  from  behind  and  carried  the  upper  line.  Kun 
on!  I  am  on  my  way  to  fetch  up  all  the  men." 

In  five  minutes  the  fire  ceased.  Evidently  some  officer  had 
come  down  from  the  upper  trenches,  and  passed  word  along 
the  lines  that  the  alarm  was  false.  By  this  time,  however, 
Arthur  was  some  distance  down  the  hill,  and  had  little  fear 
of  being  discovered.  No  one,  indeed,  paid  any  attention  to 
him.  The  Carlists  were  all  discussing  the  meaning  of  the 
heavy  firing  and  its  sudden  cessation.  Some  officers  who  had 
come  down  from  the  second  line  explained  that  it  was  all 
a  mistake,  and  that  no  one  could  say  how  it  had  arisen.  All 
that  they  had  been  able  to  gather  was  that  someone  had  run 
down,  that  a  sudden  alarm  had  been  given  by  somebody,  and 
that  the  troops  had  fired  wildly.  They  were  enquiring  into 
the  matter  at  the  top  of  the  hill ;  at  present  it  was  all  a  mys- 
tery. Arthur  spent  a  couple  of  hours  gradually  making  his 
way  down,  examining  the  defences  and  noting  their  position, . 
seeing  in  what  strength  the  various  loopholed  houses  were 
held,  until  at  last  he  came  to  the  lowest  line,  a  deep  trench 
with  a  high  embankment,  and  salients  thrown  out  to  take 
any  attacking  force  in  flank.  Here,  as  everywhere,  he  was 
questioned ;  but  always  replied  that,  as  far  as  he  knew,  it  had 
been  a  sudden  panic,  possibly  an  attempt  by  the  Christines 
to  draw  their  attention  to  that  point  while  an  attack  was 


AN  ADVENTUKE  47 

made  below.  He  therefore  enjoined  them  to  be  on  their 
guard.  He  sallied  out  at  an  opening  in  one  of  the  angles 
made  for  the  outlying  pickets  to  run  in,  if  attacked.  He 
now  proceeded  very  cautiously,  and  a  hundred  yards  down 
he  saw  two  figures  ahead  of  him.  He  walked  up  to  them. 

"  Is  all  well  ?  "  he  asked. 

"Everything  is  quiet  in  front  of  us,"  the  men  said,  "as 
far  as  we  have  heard.  But  some  thought  that  they  heard 
heavy  bodies  of  men  marching  this  way." 

"  I  am  going  out  some  little  distance  to  find  out.  Be  sure 
that  you  don't  fire  at  me  as  I  come  back." 

Without  waiting  for  an  answer  he  went  on.  He  heard  one 
say  to  the  other :  "  He  talks  queerly ;  didn't  you  notice  it  ? " 

"Yes,  I  thought  his  language  seemed  strange.  But,  you 
see,  he  did  not  speak  in  Basque,  and  we  don't  know  much 
Spanish.  Anyhow,  we  cannot  do  anything  now.  We  will 
question  him  when  he  comes  back  again." 

Highly  satisfied  with  his  success,  Arthur  walked  on  until 
he  was  challenged  by  a  sentry  ahead.  He  answered  in  Eng- 
lish "  A  friend !  "  for  he  detected  at  once  that  the  challenger 
belonged  to  the  Legion. 

"  And  who  are  you  at  all  ? "  came  from  the  sentry. 

"I  am  one  of  your  officers,"  he  said.  "Lieutenant  Hal- 
lett.  I  have  been  in  the  Carlist  camp." 

"  Come  on,  then,  and  let's  have  a  look  at  ye.  It  is  a  mighty 
noise  that  they  have  been  makin'  up  there." 

"Yes;  they  have  been  having  a  scrimmage  among  them- 
selves." He  had  now  come  up  to  the  sentry. 

"  Well,  sor,  I  can't  see  yes,"  the  man  said ;  "  but  it  is  clear 
that  you  are  English,  and  that  is  good  enough  for  me. 
Whether  you  are  Lieutenant  Hallett  or  not,  I  don't  know; 
but  I  shouldn't  be  any  wiser  if  I  did  see  you,  seeing  that  I 
don't  know  the  gentleman.  There  are  half  a  dozen  of  the 
boys  down  the  hill  with  the  sergeant  at  that  house  you  can 
just  make  out  fifty  yards  away.  You  had  best  go  down  to 
them  and  explain." 


48  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION" 

"  All  right,  and  good-night ! "  and  Arthur  walked  on. 

Arthur  was  passed  without  difficulty  through  the  outposts, 
and  when  he  reached  the  town  he  found  that  Sebastian  had 
already  returned  to  his  own  quarters. 

"  My  dear  friend ! "  the  latter  exclaimed,  springing  to  his 
feet,  "I  am  delighted  to  see  you.  I  have  been  in  a  terrible 
state  of  alarm  as  to  your  safety.  I  had  just  whispered  to 
my  cousin  who  I  was,  when  there  was  a  sudden  uproar,  and 
many  of  the  guests  ran  out  of  the  room  suddenly.  I  looked 
round  in  vain  for  you.  There  was  a  general  confusion,  and 
five  or  six  minutes  later  there  was  the  sound  of  heavy  firing, 
and  all  the  rest  of  the  guests  made  off  in  a  great  hurry.  Of 
course  I  went  out  too,  and  waited  till  some  of  the  company 
came  back.  None  of  them  seemed  to  know  exactly  what  had 
happened,  but  all  were  of  opinion  that  a  spy  of  some  sort 
had  been  discovered  at  the  wedding.  He  had  been  pursued, 
had  run  down  through  the  lines,  and  a  heavy  fire  had  been 
opened  upon  him,  and  none  doubted  but  that  he  was  killed. 
Curiously  enough,  the  men  of  the  second  line  of  defences 
had  opened  fire  on  those  in  the  upper  one.  Why,  no  one 
knew.  It  could  only  be  supposed  that  they  believed  that  a 
Christino  force  had  captured  the  upper  line  of  trenches.  I 
did  not  stop  to  hear  later  news,  but  made  off  to  the  boat  in 
hopes  of  finding  you  there.  I  waited  a  quarter  of  an  hour, 
as  you  told  me,  and  then  got  in  and  floated  down  the  river. 
I  could  not  keep  her  to  one  side,  as  you  did,  and  found  that 
it  was  better  to  let  her  go  as  she  liked.  Fortunately  there 
was  such  a  stir  in  the  Carlist  camp  that  I  passed  down  the 
river  unobserved,  and  managed  with  a  good  deal  of  difficulty 
to  get  the  boat  ashore  here.  I  have  been  back  now  about 
half  an  hour." 

"  Well,  I  managed  to  get  through  without  much  difficulty," 
Arthur  said,  "and  found  out  a  good  deal  about  their  de- 
fences." 

"Now,  you  had  better  have  a  glass  of  wine  and  a  piece 
of  bread.  That  is  all  I  can  offer  you.  But  as  I  suppose 


AN   ADVENTUKE  4:9 

you  did  not  get  any  refreshments  up  there,  you  must  be 
hungry." 

Arthur  remained  for  half  an  hour,  and  then  left.  On  the 
following  morning  he  went  after  breakfast  to  his  colonel, 
and  told  him  of  the  adventure  of  the  previous  evening. 

"  You  have  done  wonderfully  well,  Hallett,  and  the  infor- 
mation you  have  gained  will  be  of  the  greatest  importance 
to  us.  You  had  better  come  across  with  me  to  the  general 
at  once." 

The  colonel  at  first  went  in  alone,  but  presently  he  came 
out  again  and  called  Arthur  in.  "So  you  have  been  into  the 
Carlist  lines,  Mr.  Hallett  ? "  the  general  said.  "  It  was  a  very 
plucky  action.  Please  tell  me  all  about  it." 

Arthur  related  how,  when  a  Spanish  officer  had  said  that 
he  should  like  to  go  to  the  wedding  of  a  cousin,  the  idea 
had  struck  him  that  if  he  accompanied  him  he  might  obtain 
some  information  as  to  the  Carlist  lines,  and  so  had  en- 
couraged him  in  the  project.  He  had  intended  to  slip  away 
unnoticed,  but  unfortunately  he  was  betrayed  as  soon  as  he 
entered  the  room  by  the  loss  of  a  portion  of  his  moustache. 
He  then  recounted  the  whole  adventure,  and  handed  in  a  full 
report  of  the  Carlist  defences  which  he  had  that  morning 
written. 

The  general  looked  through  it.  "  This  is  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  us,  Mr.  Hallett.  It  is  the  first  authentic  in- 
formation we  have  received  of  the  position  and  strength  of 
their  lines,  and  will  be  of  the  utmost  utility  when  we  attack 
them,  which  we  shall  do  before  many  days.  You  have  cer- 
tainly used  your  eyes  to  advantage.  I  shall  study  your  re- 
port at  leisure,  and  it  will  be  of  the  greatest  use  to  me  in 
making  my  dispositions  for  the  attack.  I  shall  certainly  not 
forget  the  service  you  have  rendered  us.  It  shows  that  you 
have  a  head  to  plan,  and  courage  and  determination  to  carry 
your  ideas  into  effect.  It  shows  also  that  you  have  made 
the  best  use  of  your  time,  and  have  acquired  a  sufficient 
knowledge  of  Spanish  to  be  able  to  pass  as  a  Spaniard  in  a 


50  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

short  conversation.  You  have  done  very  well,  sir;  very  well, 
indeed !  And  if  you  go  on  as  you  have  begun,  will  certainly 
rise  in  the  profession  you  have  chosen." 

Arthur  retired  much  gratified  by  the  general's  commenda- 
tion. When  he  told  his  adventure  to  his  comrades  they 
could  at  first  hardly  believe  it,  until  the  colonel  himself  men- 
tioned the  fact,  and  held  Arthur  up  as  an  example  of  what 
even  a  young  officer  could  accomplish  if  he  chose  to  go  out 
of  the  beaten  path  to  devote  himself  to  the  study  of  a  lan- 
guage, and  to  keep  his  eyes  open  and  take  advantage  of  any 
opportunity  that  might  present  itself.  He  charged  them, 
however,  to  say  nothing  of  this  outside  the  regiment,  for  San 
Sebastian  was  full  of  spies ;  and  if  it  were  known  that  a  Brit- 
ish officer  had  made  his  way  through  their  lines,  they  might 
set  to  work  and  make  such  alterations  in  their  dispositions 
as  would  altogether  destroy  the  result  of  Arthur's  observa- 
tions. Several  of  the  young  officers  took  resolutions  to  fol- 
low Arthur's  example  and  begin  the  study  of  Spanish  forth- 
with, but  the  greater  portion  said  that  the  chance  would 
probably  never  occur  again,  and  that  it  was  not  worth  while 
to  work  like  niggers  when  the  odds  were  so  great  against  any 
good  coming  from  it. 

Already,  indeed,  the  greater  proportion  of  officers  in  the 
Legion  had  made  up  their  minds  to  return  home  at  the  ex- 
piration of  the  two  years  for  which  they  had  been  sworn  in. 
The  treatment  the  Legion  had  received — the  unnecessary 
hardships  they  had  to  encounter,  the  breach  of  faith  of  the 
Spanish  government  in  not  supplying  them  with  food  and 
keeping  them  for  months  in  arrear  with  their  pay,  and 
thereby  causing  a  loss  of  more  than  a  third  of  their  number 
before  they  had  fired  a  shot — had  sickened  them  of  the  whole 
business.  They  were  ready  to  fight,  but  they  were  not  pre- 
pared to  starve;  and  had  ships  of  war  come  to  take  them 
home,  they  would  have  accepted  their  release  with  joy.  But 
few  of  them  had  enlisted  because  they  had  any  great  interest 
in  the  cause  of  Queen  Isabella.  They  had  joined  the  Legion 


AN   ADVENTURE  51 

from  the  love  of  adventure  and  excitement,  so  dominant  in 
every  Englishman.  The  six  months  of  delay  and  neglect  had 
roughly  disillusioned  them,  and  most  of  them  regretted  bit- 
terly the  comfortable  homes  and  the  many  pleasures  they 
had  left  behind  them.  Nevertheless,  for  the  moment  they 
were  satisfied.  Their  sufferings  and  those  of  their  men  had 
been  quickly  forgotten,  for  they  had  the  enemy  in  front  of 
them,  and  it  was  certain  that  before  very  long  there  would 
be  a  great  fight;  and  none  felt  much  doubt  that,  in  spite  of 
the  strength  of  the  Carlist  position,  and  the  number  of  its 
defenders,  they  should  get  the  better  of  the  Spaniards  when 
they  came  to  close  quarters. 

The  prevailing  sentiment  was :  "  The  beggars  have  never 
fought  well  against  either  the  French  or  us,  and  it  is  not 
likely  that  they  will  begin  now.  They  seem  to  have  fought 
fairly  sometimes  against  each  other,  but  that  is  quite  a  dif- 
ferent thing  from  fighting  against  us.  They  are  only  half- 
drilled,  and  our  fellows  now  are  almost  as  well  drilled  as  our 
line.  They  don't  look  much,  poor  chaps !  but  they  will  fight. 
They  are  just  in  the  humour  for  it,  and  would  go  at  the 
Christinos  just  as  readily  as  at  the  Carlists.  They  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  Spaniards  are  brutes,  and  the 
recollection  of  what  they  have  suffered  at  their  hands  will 
make  them  fight  furiously.  It  was  just  the  same  thing  in 
the  Peninsular  War.  The  Spaniards  never  kept  their  prom- 
ises, and  our  fellows  were  starving  when  their  men  had  an 
abundance  of  everything.  The  result  was  that  our  troops 
hated  them  infinitely  worse  than  the  French,  and  behaved  like 
demons  at  the  capture  of  Badajos  and  Ciudad  Kodrigo." 

The  month's  stay  at  San  Sebastian  did  wonders  for  the 
Legion.  The  sailors  in  our  warships,  who  were  filled  with 
pity  and  horror  when  they  embarked  at  Santander,  never 
came  on  shore  without  bringing  presents  of  tobacco  and  por- 
tions of  their  own  rations  for  them.  The  shops  were  well 
supplied,  and  the  small  amount  of  pay  that  the  men  had  re- 
ceived enabled  them  to  buy  many  little  luxuries.  As  the 


52  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

Legion  was  at  the  time  supreme  there,  General  Evans  was 
enabled  to  obtain  from  the  stores  a  fair  amount  of  food,  and 
the  men  speedily  recovered  from  the  effects  of  starvation  and 
illness.  At  last  all  the  preparations  were  made.  From  the 
manner  in  which  the  staff-officers  rode  to  and  fro  with  orders, 
the  serving  out  of  ball  cartridge,  and  other  preparations,  it 
became  evident  that  the  time  for  attack  was  approaching, 
and  the  troops  rejoiced  that  they  were  at  last  to  be  called 
upon  to  play  their  part  as  men. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE    FIRST    FIGHT 

FOR  some  days  previous  to  the  5th  of  May,  plans  had 
been  formed  for  an  attack  on  the  enemy's  lines.  The 
Carlists  had  a  double  line  of  fortifications.  The  first  of  these 
was  half  a  mile  from  San  Sebastian,  and  on  the  heights  be- 
hind were  numerous  others,  formed  principally  of  steep 
banks  or  deep  lanes,  and  breast-works  of  earth.  Behind 
these,  and  separated  by  deep  hollows,  were  other  heights  simi- 
larly fortified  but  more  strongly  entrenched,  and  armed  with 
several  batteries.  The  main  road  from  San  Sebastian  to 
Aranez  ran  through  the  ground,  and  was  strongly  barricaded 
at  various  points. 

The  general's  force  consisted  of  five  thousand  British  and 
fifteen  hundred  Spanish.  All  his  own  troops  had  not  yet 
come  up,  and  more  Spanish  troops  from  Santander  were  ex- 
pected; but  the  general,  having  seen  the  manner  in  which 
Cordova  mismanaged  matters,  and  not  being  able  to  depend 
upon  him  as  a  tactician,  determined  to  attack  by  himself. 
The  evening  before  the  attack  was  to  be  made,  the  various 
commanding  officers  addressed  the  men.  All  was  bustle  that 
night.  By  three  o'clock  the  whole  of  the  troops  moved  out 


ARTHUR    MAKES    HIS    WAY    THROUGH    THE    CARLIST    LINKS 


THE    FIRST    FIGHT  53 

of  the  town.  The  Light  Brigade,  under  General  Keid,  con- 
sisting of  the  Rifles,  the  3rd,  and  an  irregular  Spanish  corps 
called  the  Chapelgorris,  advanced  against  the  enemy's  lines 
near  the  river.  The  Irish  Brigade,  consisting  of  the  9th, 
10th,  and  llth  under  General  Shaw,  moved  against  the  cen- 
tre. General  Chichester's  brigade,  comprising  that  morning 
the  1st,  two  companies  of  the  8th,  and  eight  hundred  Span- 
iards— the  4th,  with  the  remainder  of  the  8th  belonging  to 
this  brigade,  not  being  yet  landed — attacked  the  left  of  the 
enemy's  lines. 

The  three  forces  had  marched  together  as  far  as  the  con- 
vent of  St.  Bartholemy,  and  there  separated  in  the  directions 
they  were  to  take.  The  officers  were  all  on  foot,  for  over 
such  ground  it  was  impossible  to  advance  on  horseback.  Two 
hundred  yards  in  front  of  the  convent  lay  the  Carlist  pickets, 
but  so  noiselessly  were  the  operations  carried  out  that  the 
various  divisions  reached  the  posts  assigned  to  them  undis- 
covered. 

As  Arthur  marched  along  in  the  darkness  he  gave  a  hand 
in  passing  to  Roper.  "  Good-bye,  old  fellow !  "  he  said,  "  if 
we  are  not  to  meet  again;  but  we  may  hope  to  do  so  in  the 
morning."  A  squeeze  of  the  hand  was  exchanged,  and  he 
passed  on. 

It  was  an  anxious  time.  The  red  glare  of  the  enemy's 
picket-fires  could  be  seen  in  the  distance.  The  morning  was 
dark  and  wet,  and  there  was  perfect  stillness  as  they  took 
up  the  places  assigned  to  them.  Suddenly  a  Carlist  gave  a 
shout  of  "  Qui  vive ! "  which  was  answered  by  a  shot  from 
one  of  the  Chapelgorris;  then  there  was  a  shout  of  "For- 
ward!" 

Instantly  volleys  broke  out  from  the  various  Carlist  pick- 
ets. General  Evans  was  in  front  of  the  advancing  line.  His 
orders  were  that  the  men  were  not  to  fire,  but  to  advance 
well  up  and  then  charge.  The  first  houses  were  cleared,  and 
the  out-pickets  driven  in.  Then,  for  daylight  was  now  break- 
ing, the  troops  began  to  see  the  formidable  nature  of  the 


54:  WITH    THE    BBITISH    LEGION 

work  before  them.  The  7th  Irish  advanced  almost  without 
firing  a  shot.  Volley  after  volley  was  poured  into  them, 
and,  though  they  dropped  fast,  they  went  steadily  on  with 
their  colonel  at  their  head.  Sweeping  forward,  they  gained 
the  long  building  called  the  Windmill  Battery,  though  five 
hundred  Carlists  garrisoned  the  loop-holes.  A  great  num- 
ber of  the  enemy  fell  in  and  about  these  houses,  refusing  to 
surrender  as  prisoners,  but  fighting  to  the  last  till  they  were 
finally  driven  out.  As  General  Evans  came  up  to  them  he 
exclaimed  to  the  7th,  "  You  are  doing  nobly,  Irishmen ! " 

On  the  enemy's  right  equally  severe  fighting  was  carried 
on;  and  while  the  7th  carried  the  Windmill  Battery,  the 
Light  Brigade  succeeded  in  establishing  themselves  near,  and 
driving  the  enemy  from  other  posts  of  similar  description. 

Colonel  Tupper  was  shot  through  the  arm  while  gallantly 
leading  his  regiment,  but,  lest  his  officers  and  men  should  be 
discouraged,  he  threw  his  cloak  around  him  to  hide  it,  and 
held  on  with  his  regiment  two  hours  longer.  When  he  was 
again  facing  a  heavy  fire,  he  was  shot  through  the  head.  On 
the  left,  the  1st  and  two  companies  of  the  8th,  under  General 
Chichester,  assisted  in  the  assault,  but  without  much  help 
from  the  Spanish  regiments.  Colonel  Fortescue,  of  the 
Rifles,  was  very  conspicuous,  being  frequently  engaged  hand 
to  hand  with  the  Carlists;  cutting  his  way  through  bushes, 
over  walls  and  other  obstacles,  and  dragging  his  men  through 
when  they  were  sinking  in  the  dirt  and  mud.  The  7th  and 
9th  were  repulsed  three  separate  times,  but  a  party  of  the 
10th  came  up  and  joined  them,  led  by  Colonel  Fitzgerald. 
A  stone  wall  was  in  front  of  them,  and  over  this  Colonel 
Fitzgerald  sprang  with  a  riding-whip  in  his  hand.  Volley 
after  volley  was  poured  upon  them,  and  the  men  fell  as  fast 
as  they  got  over.  All  the  officers  who  crossed  the  wall  with 
him  fell,  but  he  stood  still  and  ordered  his  men  to  come  on. 
His  last  words  were  heard  by  an  Irishman,  who  sprang  over 
the  wall  saying,  "  Ye'll  not  die  by  yerself ,  old  Charlie !  " 

There  was  a  rush  by  the  others,  and  the  position  was  won. 


THE    FIRST    FIGHT  55 

The  second  line  of  defences  had  now  given  way,  the  only 
position  of  importance  remaining  being  the  fort  of  Lugariz. 
Here  the  enemy  were  massed.  Men  tried  to  climb  up  the 
slippery  slope  to  its  foot,  but  fell  or  slipped  back  again. 
Until  nine  o'clock  the  troops  were  baffled.  At  this  moment 
the  two  vessels  with  the  4th  and  8th  entered  the  bay.  The 
boats  were  instantly  launched,  and  the  men  brought  ashore. 
As  they  landed  they  threw  their  knapsacks  down  on  the  sand. 
The  two  ships  of  war  opened  a  storm  of  ball  and  shell  at  the 
fort.  Colonel  Godfrey,  as  soon  as  he  arrived  with  the  two 
regiments,  at  once  rushed  into  the  thick  of  the  combat.  The 
batteries  continued  to  fire  until  they  were  at  the  foot  of  the 
wall.  A  breach  was  made  and  the  troops  rushed  in,  but  the 
Carlists  for  a  time  still  kept  up  a  heavy  musketry  fire  from 
the  rear. 

The  3rd  made  at  the  same  time  a  determined  charge  on 
a  fort  that  had  been  resolutely  defended  for  a  long  time. 
The  fight  here  was  very  stiff.  Fortescue  and  Swan  were  both 
wounded,  and  Brigadier  Reid  was  shot  through  the  breast. 
Fourteen  field-officers  and  captains,  and  double  that  number 
of  subalterns,  were  either  killed  or  wounded. 

At  last  all  opposition  ceased.  The  Carlists  drew  off  sul- 
lenly. The  bugles  rang  out  the  recall,  and  the  scattered 
and  exhausted  troops  gathered  together  in  regiments.  They 
had  good  reason  to  be  proud  of  themselves.  Older  soldiers 
could  not  have  fought  more  bravely  than  these  men,  none  of 
whom  had  been  under  fire  before.  The  6th  and  7th  Regi- 
ments suffered  the  greatest  loss,  the  number  of  killed  and 
wounded  amounting  to  more  than  a  quarter  of  their  entire 
strength.  The  total  loss  was  seventy-five  officers  and  eight 
hundred  and  forty-eight  privates.  Many  of  the  wounded 
died  after  the  engagement..  Four  pieces  of  artillery  were 
taken. 

When  the  fight  was  over,  Arthur  Hallett  leant  against  a 
wall  panting  and  exhausted.  It  seemed  to  him  almost  like 
a  dream,  and  he  could  hardly  believe  that  he  had  come 


56  WITH    THE    BBITISH    LEGION 

through  the  desperate  struggle  without  a  scratch.  Except- 
ing  only  when  for  a  time  it  was  brought  to  a  stand-still  by 
Fort  Lugariz,  the  regiment  had  been  incessantly  fighting. 
Now  pushing  forward,  now  falling  back,  now  broken  up  into 
parties,  now  gathering  together  again;  sometimes  loading 
and  firing  as  quickly  as  possible  at  the  walls  and  houses, 
from  which  flashed  shot  as  quickly  in  return;  then  dashing 
over  walls  and  across  gardens,  storming  houses,  and  driving 
all  before  them.  There  had  been  an  anxious  time  when  they 
could  not  struggle  up  to  the  foot  of  the  fort,  but  were  forced 
to  lie  quiet,  to  shield  themselves  as  they  best  could  from  the 
fire  from  its  summit  until  the  vessels  of  war  beat  down  an 
angle  of  the  wall  to  make  an  entrance. 

It  seemed  to  him  well-nigh  impossible  that  he  could  have 
come  out  of  the  turmoil  alive.  He  was  soon,  however, 
aroused.  The  bugles  were  ringing  out,  and  the  unwounded 
men  formed  up  in  order  that  their  names  could  be  taken, 
after  which  the  work  of  collecting  the  wounded  began  in 
earnest. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you  have  come  out  all  right,  Hallett," 
Captain  Buller  said.  "Poor  Prince  is  killed,  and  I  should 
think  pretty  nearly  half  the  company.  It  is  the  sharpest 
fight  I  ever  went  through.  If  it  had  been  much  sharper 
there  would  not  have  been  anyone  left  to  tell  the  story." 

"I  am  sorry  to  see  that  you  are  hurt,  sir." 

"My  wound  is  not  serious;  it  was  a  thrust  with  a  bayonet 
through  the  arm.  However,  I  have  got  my  majority.  You 
had  got  five  or  six  steps  before,  owing  to  men  being  sent 
home.  I  should  think  there  must  be  at  least  seven  or  eight 
vacancies  now  among  the  lieutenants.  One's  only  consola- 
tion is  that  it  is  an  ill  wind  that  blows  no  one  good." 

As  soon  as  the  roll  was  called,  the  work  of  carrying  down 
the  wounded  began,  and  Arthur  had  time  to  go  and  look  for 
Eoper.  To  his  great  satisfaction  he  found  that  he  also  was 
uninjured.  They  exchanged  a  hearty  hand-shake. 

"We  are  very  fortunate  to  have  both  got  through  it, 
Koper." 


THE    FIEST    FIGHT  57 

"  I  am  glad  indeed,"  the  other  said.  "  I  wondered  several 
times  how  you  were  faring,  but  there  was  very  little  time  for 
thinking." 

"  No ;  we  must  talk  it  over  with  each  other  when  we  have 
leisure.  We  must  help  to  get  all  these  poor  fellows  down 
before  we  can  think  of  anything  else.  Well,  it  is  satisfactory 
that  we  have  had  a  good  fight  at  last.  I  had  begun  to  have 
great  doubts  whether  we  were  ever  going  to  fight  at  all." 

"  Yes ;  they  cannot  say  any  more  that  the  Legion  is  of  no 
use  for  fighting.  It  has  been  our  first  chance,  and  I  think 
we  have  made  the  most  of  it." 

Then  they  separated;  and  it  was  late  in  the  afternoon  be- 
fore the  work  of  collecting  all  the  wounded  was  finished.  In 
the  meantime  a  number  of  townspeople  had  been  hired  to 
dig  graves,  and  by  nightfall  all  the  dead  were  buried.  Some 
of  the  troops  slept  on  the  ground  they  had  won,  the  rest 
marched  down  into  the  town;  rations  were  served  out,  and 
as  soon  as  these  were  cooked  and  eaten  all  went  to  sleep. 
Arthur's  regiment  was  one  of  those  that  remained  on  the  hill, 
and  the  officers  all  gathered  in  one  of  the  houses  that  had 
been  carried  by  storm.  The  bodies  of  the  dead  Carlists  had 
been  carried  out,  and  fires  had  been  lighted.  After  they  had 
eaten  a  meal,  Arthur  and  two  other  officers  started  on  the 
rounds  to  see  that  the  watch  were  vigilant,  for  the  Carlists 
had  not  fallen  back  far,  and  might  at  any  moment  make  an 
attempt  to  recover  the  lost  ground.  Each  of  them  had  two 
orderlies,  and  these  carried  lanterns.  The  night  was  dark, 
and  it  was  next  to  impossible  to  make  their  way  about  over 
the  broken  ground,  which  was  still  thickly  strewn  with  dead 
Carlists.  They  were  heartily  glad  when,  an  hour  later,  they 
were  gathered  by  the  fire. 

As  they  would  have  to  turn  out  again  in  another  hour  they 
agreed  that  it  was  of  no  use  to  sleep,  and  they  chatted  in  low 
tones  of  the  events  of  the  day.  All  agreed  that  it  had  been 
worse  than  they  had  expected,  and  that  the  enemy  had  fought 
with  great  bravery. 


58  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

"  They  are  sturdy  fellows  and  not  to  be  despised,"  a  cap- 
tain said.  "I  certainly  did  not  think  they  would  fight  so 
well.  If  they  had  fought  like  that  against  the  French  there 
would  have  been  no  occasion  for  us  to  send  an  army  to  help 
them.  However,  we  have  a  right  to  be  proud  of  the  Legion ; 
they  have  done  gallantly.  It  is  a  pity  that  we  have  lost 
something  like  three  thousand  men  by  sickness.  It  would 
have  made  a  vast  difference  if  we  had  had  our  full  force 
here." 

"  Anyhow,  it  was  lucky,"  Arthur  said,  "  that  the  other  two 
regiments  came  up  in  the  middle  of  it,  for  they  had  fairly 
brought  us  to  a  stand-still.  Well,  I  suppose  it  is  time  for  us 
to  turn  out  again.  At  any  rate  it  is  a  consolation  that  we 
shall  get  some  sleep  to-morrow." 

Next  day  the  general  sent  for  Arthur.  "  I  must  thank  you 
again,"  he  said,  "  for  the  information  you  gained  for  us, 
Mr.  Hallett.  But  for  it  I  don't  think  we  should  have  man- 
aged to  win  our  way  so  far,  for  we  learnt  from  it  the  weak 
and  the  strong  points,  and  were  able  to  take  several  of  their 
most  formidable  redoubts,  which  would  otherwise,  I  think, 
have  been  more  than  we  could  manage.  I  shall  have  pleas- 
ure in  mentioning  your  name  in  my  report  of  the  action, 
and  shall  remember  you  if  anyone  is  wanted  for  special 
service." 

"  Thank  you,  sir.  I  can  assure  you  that  I  have  never 
thought  of  such  a  thing,  and  only  carried  out  my  plan  in 
the  hope  that  I  might  gain  some  information  which  would 
be  useful  to  you  when  the  time  came  to  attack.  I  have 
already  been  extremely  fortunate  in  obtaining  a  commission 
although  altogether  without  interest,  and  can  only  hope  that 
in  future  I  may  again  be  able  in  some  way  to  be  of  use  to 
you." 

Arthur  aftewards  went  to  have  a  chat  with  Eoper.  "  Well, 
Roper,  we  have  had  our  first  battle;  what  did  you  think  of 
it?" 

"I  had  no  time  to  think  about  it  at  all.    It  was  just  load 


THE    FIRST    FIGHT  59 

and  fire,  and  '  Go  at  them,  lads ! '  then  falling  back,  and  then 
trying  again.  It  was  certainly  a  good  deal  worse  than  I  had 
expected.  I  don't  think  that  I  was  frightened.  My  one  idea 
was  that  I  wanted  to  get  at  them." 

"  That  is  a  good  deal  like  what  I  felt,  Koper.  I  know  I 
wondered  occasionally  that  I  lived  through  such  a  storm  of 
musket  balls.  Sometimes  it  seemed  as  if  nothing  could  exist 
in  it." 

"  All  the  time  I  was  astonished  at  the  courage  the  Carlists 
showed.  We  had  so  made  up  our  minds  that  they  would  not 
stand  against  us  for  a  moment  that  I  was  quite  taken  aback 
when  I  found  that  they  were  fighting  just  as  hard  as  our- 
selves." 

"  Not  quite  so  hard,  Roper,"  Arthur  said.  "  They  fought 
hard,  I  admit,  but  when  we  got  among  them  with  the  bayonet 
we  always  had  the  best  of  it.  The  beggars  could  stand  bul- 
lets, but  they  did  not  like  steel." 

"  We  lost  heavily,  sir." 

"I  am  sorry  to  say  that  we  did.  We  lost  particularly 
heavily  among  the  officers." 

"  Yes,  sir.  Everyone  was  saying  how  gallantly  they  showed 
the  way.  I  hardly  expected  some  of  them  to  do  so  well.  Of 
course  one  has  no  means  of  knowing;  but  there  is  a  sort  of 
general  idea  that  an  officer  who  doesn't  look  after  his  men,  or 
seem  to  take  any  interest  in  them,  is  not  the  sort  of  fellow 
who  would  lead  them  well  in  a  fight." 

"  I  don't  see  why  that  should  be  so,  Roper.  A  man  may 
be  very  kind-hearted,  and  yet  not  extraordinarily  plucky; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  a  pretty  hard  sort  of  man  may 
have  any  amount  of  courage." 

"I  suppose  that  is  so,  sir;  but  somehow  one  seems  to  think 
that  a  man  who  is  a  good  fellow  one  way  will  be  a  good 
fellow  another." 

When  off  duty  some  of  the  officers  would  often  go  out  for 
a  sail,  and  one  day  four  of  his  friends  asked  Arthur  to  ac- 
company them. 


60  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

"I  don't  think  the  weather  looks  very  settled,"  he  said; 
"still,  there  mayn't  be  any  change  till  we  are  back.  Any- 
how, I  am  ready  to  go." 

"  That  is  right.  You  know  you  understand  managing  a 
boat,  and  that  is  more  than  can  be  said  for  the  rest  of  us. 
We  don't  propose  to  be  out  more  than  two  or  three  hours." 

"  Well,  it  makes  a  change,  anyhow.  After  drill  is  over, 
there  is  little  enough  to  do  in  the  town  till  the  evening;  it 
is  all  right  then.  The  better  class  seem  to  sleep  during 
the  day;  at  any  rate,  they  don't  show  outside  their  houses. 
And  though  they  are  friendly  enough  when  you  meet  them 
on  the  promenade,  they  are  very  chary  of  asking  you  to  call, 
or  anything  of  that  sort,  except  when  they  have  regular  re- 
ceptions." 

Accordingly  they  went  down  and  hired  a  boat,  and  put  out. 
A  sail  was  hoisted,  and  as  the  wind  was  dead  behind  them 
they  ran  out  merrily.  They  passed  within  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  of  the  men-of-war. 

"  There  is  a  man  on  that  ship  waving  his  arms  and  shout- 
ing," Arthur  said.  "I  rather  think  he  is  shouting  to  us." 

"No;  I  expect  he  is  shouting  to  someone  on  the  other 
ship,"  one  of  the  others  replied. 

They  thought  no  more  of  it,  and  kept  their  course.  When 
they  had  gone  five  miles  Arthur  said:  "I  think  we  had 
better  be  making  for  home  again.  We  shall  have  to  beat 
all  the  way,  and  the  wind  is  freshening ;  besides,  I  don't  like 
the  look  of  the  clouds  coming  up  over  the  hills." 

The  others,  who  were  enjoying  themselves,  said :  "  Oh,  we 
will  go  a  bit  farther;  it  would  be  a  pity  to  cut  our  trip 
short." 

They  held  on  for  another  couple  of  miles,  and  then  Arthur 
said:  "I  am  sure  we  had  better  turn.  You  hardly  recog- 
nize how  hard  the  wind  is  blowing;  we  are  running  before 
it,  and  she  keeps  on  an  even  keel.  You  will  find  matters 
altogether  different  when  we  have  once  put  about." 

"  Well,  turn  if  you  like,  Hallett.    It  really  seems  a  pity." 


THE    PIKST    FIGHT  61 

"  Well,  before  I  bring  her  into  the  wind  we  had  better  let 
the  sail  run  down  and  put  two  reefs  into  it.  I  fancy  we 
shall  have  to  reef  it  close  down  before  we  have  done." 

The  others  saw  by  the  serious  expression  on  Arthur's  face 
that  he  was  thoroughly  in  earnest,  and  they  lowered  the  sail 
and  reefed  it.  As  soon  as  this  was  done,  Arthur  put  the 
helm  down  and  the  boat  came  up  into  the  wind.  As  she 
did  so,  she  heeled  over  so  far  that  one  or  two  of  the  others 
grasped  the  gunwale  fearing  that  she  was  going  over. 

"  She  is  all  right  at  present,"  Arthur  said,  as  she  started 
off  on  her  new  course ;  "  but  I  wish  we  were  five  miles  nearer 
the  land.  I  can  see  she  won't  look  up  very  near  the  wind, 
and  we  shall  have  a  long  beat  before  we  get  in." 

Half  an  hour  later  the  sail  was  close-reefed,  but  even  under 
this  small  spread  of  canvas  she  heeled  over  till  her  lee-rail 
was  close  to  the  water. 

"  You  were  right,  Hallett,  and  we  were  fools  not  to  follow 
your  advice,"  one  of  the  others  said.  "I  don't  know  much 
about  sailing,  but  I  understand  enough  to  see  that  we  have 
a  very  tough  job  before  us;  and  the  wind  is  getting  stronger 
every  moment." 

Five  minutes  later  Arthur  said :  "  There  is  a  black  squall 
coming  across  the  water.  We  had  better  lower  the  sail  alto- 
gether till  it  has  passed.  I  have  no  very  strong  hopes,  how- 
ever, that  it  will  be  over  for  some  time.  There  is  no  break 
in  the  clouds,  and  I  have  quite  lost  sight  of  the  shore." 

His  advice  was  taken.  The  mast  was  lowered  and  the  sail 
rolled  up,  and  two  officers  got  out  oars. 

"You  had  better  get  them  all  out,"  Arthur  said;  "it  is 
as  much  as  we  shall  be  able  to  do  to  keep  her  head  to  the 
storm.  Now,  all  row  quietly.  The  squall  will  be  on  us  in 
a  couple  of  minutes;  when  it  comes,  you  will  have  to  put 
your  whole  strength  into  it.  It  is  fortunate  that  I  am  steer- 
ing with  this  short  oar.  If  she  had  had  a  rudder  we  should 
never  have  kept  her  straight,  for  she  will  be  hardly  moving 
through  the  water." 


62  WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION" 

There  was  a  sudden  splash  of  rain,  then  a  pause,  and  then 
it  came  down  in  bucketfuls,  while  the  wind  literally  howled. 
For  a  time  the  exertions  of  the  four  rowers,  and  of  Arthur 
at  the  steering  oar,  kept  her  head  straight ;  but  after  a  quar- 
ter of  an  hour  the  rowers,  unaccustomed  to  prolonged  ex- 
ertions, began  to  flag.  Arthur  changed  places  with  the  stroke 
oar,  and  the  boat  again  made  a  little  way ;  but  the  advantage 
gained  by  his  strength  was  more  than  counterbalanced  by 
the  want  of  skill  of  the  helmsman,  and  at  the  end  of  five 
minutes'  rowing  the  boat's  head  fell  off,  and  the  wind  caught 
it  and  whirled  it  round. 

"  Oars  in !  "  Arthur  shouted.  "  I  will  take  the  helm  again. 
You  four  had  better  sit  down  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat. 
A  big  sea  will  be  getting  up  very  soon." 

"  How  long  is  it  going  to  last  ? "  Sinclair  said,  when  they 
had  all  crouched  at  the  bottom  of  the  boat. 

"It  may  last  two  or  three  days,  and  the  wind  could  not 
be  in  a  worse  quarter.  If  it  shifts,  we  might  make  either 
the  coast  of  Spain  or  France;  but  it  is  a  south-easter,  and 
will  blow  us  right  out  into  the  bay.  It  is  lucky  you  brought 
those  two  bottles  of  wine  and  that  loaf  of  bread  with  you; 
we  shall  want  them  badly  before  we  see  land  again.  I  wish 
to  goodness  we  had  run  in  to  that  man-of-war.  I  have  no 
doubt  at  all  now  that  the  man  was  hailing  us,  and  that  they 
were  going  to  caution  us  against  going  out  farther.  How- 
ever, wishing  is  useless;  we  have  got  to  grin  and  bear  it." 

"  We  were  fools  not  to  take  your  advice  earlier,  Hallett." 

"I  don't  think  it  would  have  made  much  difference," 
Arthur  said.  "  If  we  had  turned  then,  we  could  not  have 
got  back  before  the  squall  struck  us,  and  we  should  have 
been  blown  out  just  as  we  have  been  now." 

He  was  now  sitting  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat  also,  still 
holding  the  steering  oar.  There  was,  however,  but  little  to 
do  with  it,  the  boat  was  running  straight  before  the  wind. 

"  What  pace  do  you  think  we  are  going  through  the 
water? "  Sharman  shouted,  for  they  could  scarcely  hear  each 
other  speak. 


THE    FIKST    FIGHT  63 

"About  six  or  seven  knots,  I  should  say." 

"  Then  if  it  goes  on  for  three  days  we  shall  be  something 
like  five  hundred  miles  out  ? " 

Arthur  nodded.  "I  hope  it  won't  keep  on  blowing  as 
long  as  that.  Besides,  there  may  be  some  shift  in  the  wind 
that  would  enable  us  to  make  either  France  or  Spain.  If 
not,  we  have  only  one  chance,  and  that  is,  we  may  be  picked 
up  by  some  passing  ship." 

There  was  little  more  talk.  They  were  all  sitting  close 
together  in  the  stern,  as  Arthur  said  that  by  so  doing  the 
greater  draught  aft  would  enable  the  boat  to  keep  her  course 
dead  before  the  wind  without  steering.  Each  felt  that  it 
was  more  cheerful  being  thus  close  together,  even  if  there 
was  nothing  to  talk  about. 

Sinclair  proposed  that  they  should  have  a  little  wine  to 
warm  themselves,  but  Arthur  at  once  said :  "  We  must  not 
think  of  such  a  thing.  We  have  all  had  breakfast,  and  it 
must  last  us  till  to-morrow  morning.  We  may  have  to  eke 
out  the  wine  for  a  fortnight;  those  two  bottles  are  of  vital 
importance  to  us.  As  long  as  it  keeps  on  raining  we  shall 
not  suffer  from  thirst.  By  the  way,  it  would  be  a  good  plan 
to  shake  out  the  sail  and  spread  it  on  the  seats  with  the 
oars  over  it,  lashed  into  their  places  by  the  sheet.  In  that 
way  we  shall  be  able  to  catch  the  water  that  runs  off  it  in 
the  baler."  ' 

"  There  is  a  lot  in  the  bottom." 

"  Yes,  but  it  is  principally  sea-water.  You  had  better  shift 
a  bit  forward.  The  waves  are  beginning  to  break  over  her 
stern,  and  we  must  keep  her  more  on  an  even  keel." 

Night  came  on.  The  gale  was  blowing  with  unabated  force, 
and  the  sea  was  high,  but  the  boat  rode  easily  over  it,  for 
she  was  a  large  craft,  and  would  have  required  double  the 
number  on  board  to  take  her  down  to  her  bearings.  Fortu- 
nately the  water  was  warm,  so  that  while  there  was  not  a 
dry  thread  on  them,  they  did  not  suffer  from  cold.  As  night 
came  on,  they  rearranged  their  saiL  They  put  one  of  the 


64  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

stretchers  across  the  boat  with  its  ends  resting  on  the  gun- 
wale some  five  feet  from  the  bow.  The  oars  were  lashed  to 
this,  sloping  downward  into  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  and 
over  them  the  sail  was  fastened,  thus  making  a  sort  of  tent 
sufficiently  large  for  them  all  to  lie  under.  All  were  worn 
out  by  the  buffeting  of  the  wind,  and  in  spite  of  the  tossing 
of  the  boat,  the  hardness  of  the  boards,  and  their  drenched 
clothes,  they  fell  asleep  before  long. 

Morning  was  breaking  when  they  awoke,  and  there  was  no 
change,  except  that  the  sea  was  running  much  higher.  The 
first  thing  they  did  was  to  bale  out  the  boat.  Then  a  bottle 
was  opened,  and  a  little  wine  measured  out  carefully  into 
the  wine-glass  that  had  been  brought  on  board.  The  loaf 
of  bread  had  been  placed  in  a  locker.  This  had  fortunately 
kept  dry.  A  slice  of  it  was  cut  off  and  divided  into  five 
portions.  It  was  but  a  meagre  breakfast,  but  all  felt  better 
after  it.  Pipes  and  cigars  were  then  lighted,  and  they  began 
to  talk. 

"What  chance  do  you  think  there  is  of  a  vessel  picking 
us  up,  Hallett?" 

"  I  really  can't  say ;  but  there  ought  to  be  a  fair  chance 
if  the  wind  is  blowing  in  the  same  direction  as  when  we 
started.  It  would  take  us  out,  I  should  think,  pretty  well 
into  the  course  of  ships  going  south.  There  are,  besides, 
vessels  making  for  Bordeaux  and  other  French  ports.  It  will 
be  hard  if  we  don't  run  across  some  of  them;  and  as  we 
have  four  oars  and  a  sail  we  should  be  able  to  cut  them  off 
as  they  come  in.  Yes,  I  think  our  chances  are  good.  But 
even  now  one  of  us  ought  always  to  keep  on  watch." 

The  rain  had  ceased  falling,  but  the  air  was  still  thick, 
and  heavy  clouds  were  passing  overhead.  At  one  o'clock, 
however,  these  began  to  break,  and  two  hours  later  the  sun 
shone  out  brightly. 

"  That  is  a  comfort,"  Arthur  said.  "  In  the  first  place  it 
will  dry  us,  in  the  second  place  it  will  cheer  us,  and  in  the 
third  it  will  enable  us  to  see  a  long  way." 


THE    FIRST    FIGHT  65 

He  stood  up  and  looked  round.  "I  can  see  nothing  at 
present,"  he  said.  "It  is  only  when  we  get  on  the  top  of 
a  wave  that  we  can  see  any  distance." 

About  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  they  made  out  a  sail, 
but  it  was  a  long  way  off,  and  was  already  to  the  west  of 
them;  and  it  was  seen  at  once  that  it  would  be  absolutely 
useless  to  try  and  row  after  the  ship,  as  she  was  running 
rapidly  along,  although  under  a  very  small  amount  of  canvas. 
Still,  the  sight  of  the  vessel  cheered  them.  They  had  seen 
one,  and  there  was  no  reason  why  they  should  not  see  more. 
They  now  knew  that  the  wind  was  blowing  more  from  the 
south  than  it  had  done,  and  that  they  were  therefore  run- 
ning to  the  north.  This  was  an  advantage,  for  they  would 
be  making  rather  towards  than  away  from  the  French  coast, 
and  when  the  wind  fell,  might  hope  to  reach  it. 

The  next  morning  the  wind  had  dropped  a  good  deal.  The 
day  was  bright  and  clear,  and  they  allowed  themselves  a 
double  portion  of  wine  and  bread.  Then  they  got  the  mast 
up,  undid  the  lashings  of  the  sail,  and  hoisted  it  half-way 
up,  making  holes  in  the  canvas  by  which  they  could  put  an 
extra  reef  in.  Under  this  very  reduced  canvas  they  were 
able  to  sail  comfortably,  though  all  of  them  had  to  sit  up 
to  windward.  The  wind  had  come  still  more  round  to  the 
west  of  south,  so  they  were  able  to  lay  their  course  due 
east. 

"  How  far  are  we  off  land,  do  you  think,  Hallett  ? " 

"Well,  we  have  been  about  sixty-six  hours  out.  By  the 
course  we  ran  the  first  twenty-four,  we  made,  at  six  knots  an 
hour,  about  a  hundred  and  forty-four  miles,  which  would  put 
us,  I  should  say,  something  like  seventy  to  the  nearest  point 
of  France.  The  next  twenty-four  hours  we  were  running 
nearly  north,  so  during  that  time  we  must  have  kept  about 
the  same  distance  from  the  coast.  Last  night  we  must  have 
been  approaching  rather  than  running  away  from  it.  Well, 
we  are  now  going  about  four  knots  through  the  water.  If 
the  wind  falls  more,  and  we  can  put  up  more  sail,  we  shall 


66  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

walk  along  a  little  faster ;  but  until  the  sea  goes  down,  I  don't 
think  we  can  calculate  upon  making  above  five  knots.  But 
if  we  are  now,  as  I  suppose,  nearly  in  a  line  with  the  mouth 
of  the  Loire,  we  may  not  be  more  than  thirty  or  forty  miles 
from  the  shore;  for,  although  I  don't  pretend  to  be  partic- 
ularly well  up  in  geography,  I  know  that  the  French  coast 
runs  out  a  good  deal  west  till  it  gets  to  Brest." 

At  twelve  o'clock  Sinclair  stood  up  and  looked  round. 
"  I  can  make  out  a  dark  line,"  he  said,  "  over  there  to  the 
left ;  it  looks  to  me  like  land.  We  should  have  seen  it  before 
but  for  the  sail." 

Arthur  was  as  usual  steering,  but  the  others  all  went  for- 
ward to  have  a  look,  and  Sinclair  took  the  helm  for  a  minute 
to  allow  him  to  do  so. 

"  That  is  land  certainly,"  he  said.  "  I  should  say  that  it 
is  stretching  out  towards  Brest;  but  I  think  we  had  better 
keep  straight  on.  It  may  take  us  a  few  more  hours  to  get 
to  shore,  but  it  would  save  us  a  lot  of  travelling  if  we  were 
to  strike  the  mouth  of  the  Loire  instead  of  Brest.  At  any 
rate  we  are  safe  now,  and  can  venture  upon  a  slice  of  bread 
each  and  a  full  glass  of  wine — a  glass  and  a  half  in  fact; 
that  will  still  leave  us  with  half  a  bottle  for  breakfast  to- 
morrow morning.  We  may  fairly  calculate  upon  being  close 
to  land  by  that  time." 

The  others  were  rather  in  favour  of  running  to  the  land 
they  saw. 

"  Well,  look  here,"  Arthur  said,  "  don't  you  think  that  it 
would  be  a  great  deal  easier  to  travel  a  hundred  miles  in 
this  boat  than  to  tramp  the  same  distance?  Besides,  the 
coast,  I  believe,  is  very  rocky  all  the  way  along  there,  and 
we  might  find  a  difficulty  in  landing.  My  own  idea  is,  that 
when  we  do  make  land,  we  must  go  ashore  and  find  out  where 
we  are,  lay  in  a  good  stock  of  provisions,  and  start  south 
again.  With  the  wind  as  it  is  now,  we  could  very  nearly 
lie  our  course,  and  we  could  certainly  do  so  if  the  wind  goes 
round  a  point  or  two  farther.  I  don't  know  what  money 


THE    FIRST    FIGHT  67 

you  fellows  have,  but  I  have  only  a  dollar  or  two  in  my 
pocket." 

All  examined  their  store,  and  the  total  only  amounted  to 
thirteen  dollars. 

"  Thirteen  dollars  would  go  no  distance  towards  taking  us 
down  through  France.  It  would  not  pay  for  a  conveyance 
a  quarter  of  the  distance,  to  say  nothing  about  food.  Even 
if  we  walked  it,  it  would  hardly  pay  for  our  bread  and 
cheese,  and  we  should  have  to  sleep  in  the  open.  Then,  too, 
we  might  have  a  deal  of  difficulty  in  getting  into  Spain  with- 
out passports ;  and  if  we  did  get  in  we  should  find  it  almost 
impossible  to  make  our  way  to  San  Sebastian,  as  several 
places  on  the  frontier  are  in  the  hands  of  the  Carlists. 
Therefore  I  shall  certainly  stick  to  the  boat.  If  you  prefer 
to  tramp  you  can  do  so;  but  I  know  that  before  you  have 
gone  more  than  a  day's  march,  you  will  begin  to  feel  very 
sorry  that  you  did  not  take  my  advice." 

"  There  is  a  lot  in  what  you  say,  Hallett,"  Sharman  said, 
"  and  I  for  one  shall  certainly  stick  to  it." 

The  others  at  once  agreed  to  the  idea.  Arthur,  being  the 
only  one  who  knew  anything  of  sailing,  had  throughout  the 
voyage  acted  as  captain,  and  the  fact  that  he  had  carried 
them  through  the  storm  safely  had  given  the  others  great 
confidence  in  him. 

"  I  should  say,"  Arthur  went  on,  "  that  when  we  make  land 
we  may  as  well  stop  for  twenty-four  hours.  The  people  will 
probably  treat  us  hospitably  as  shipwrecked  mariners,  and 
put  us  up  and  feed  us.  We  shall  all  be  glad  of  twenty-four 
hours'  rest;  and  by  the  time  we  are  ready  to  start  again, 
the  sea  will  have  gone  down,  and  we  shall  set  out  like  lions 
refreshed.  With  a  wind  anywhere  north  of  east  or  west,  we 
shall  be  able  to  lie  our  course  comfortably;  and  even  if  the 
wind  is  light  we  ought  to  make  eighty  or  a  hundred  miles 
a  day,  and  three  days  will  take  us  easily  to  San  Sebastian." 

The  sun  was  just  setting  when  they  saw  land  ahead  of 
them,  and  by  ten  o'clock  they  were  close  to  it,  and  could 


68  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION" 

make  out  that  it  was  either  an  island,  or  a  cape  running 
out  into  the  sea.  They  sailed  to  the  north  side  of  it.  The 
sea  was  smooth,  so  running  the  boat  ashore  they  got  out 
on  to  a  low  beach.  Walking  inland  for  some  distance  they 
threw  themselves  down  in  a  field,  and  as  the  ground  was  soft 
in  comparison  with  the  boards  at  the  bottom  of  the  boat, 
they  were  very  soon  sound  asleep.  In  the  morning  they 
finished  the  loaf  and  the  wine,  and  then  returned  to  the 
beach.  Ascending  some  rising  ground,  they  saw  that  half 
a  mile  along  the  shore  there  was  a  village  standing  at  some 
little  distance  from  the  sea.  Towards  this  place,  therefore, 
they  made  their  way. 

As  they  entered  the  village  they  were  regarded  with  looks 
of  astonishment  by  the  natives.  They  were  not  in  uniform, 
but  their  clothes  had  shrunk  considerably  in  their  long 
drenching.  Sharman  had  lost  his  cap.  All  looked  faded 
and  bedraggled,  and  three  days'  short  rations  had  left  its 
mark  on  their  faces.  Sinclair  fortunately  spoke  a  little 
French,  and  was  able  to  make  the  villagers  understand  that 
they  had  been  blown  off  the  coast  of  Spain  in  a  storm,  and 
had  landed  late  the  previous  evening  half  a  mile  away.  The 
cure  of  the  village  at  once  took  them  in,  and  in  short  time 
they  sat  down  to  a  hearty  meal,  to  which  they  did  full  jus- 
tice. They  told  the  cure  that  they  intended  to  start  next 
morning  to  sail  down  the  coast,  and  learned  from  him  that 
the  place  where  they  had  landed  was  the  island  of  St.  Nazaire, 
and  that  they  were  some  twenty  miles  from  the  mainland. 

"  I  think  you  could  not  do  better  than  sail  along  the  coast," 
he  said.  "  Once  you  make  the  mainland  you  will  find  vil- 
lages and  little  ports  at  short  distances.  At  these  you  can 
buy  anything  you  want.  Of  course  you  will  always  keep 
within  sight  of  land,  except  when  you  cross  the  mouth  of 
the  Gironde.  I  don't  know  how  you  are  off  for  money,  gen- 
tlemen, but  I  shall  be  happy  to  supply  you  with  some,  which 
you  can  send  to  me  when  you  have  an  opportunity." 

"We  are  very  much  obliged  to  you,  sir,"  Sinclair  said, 


THE    FIBST    FIGHT  69 

"but  we  have  thirteen  dollars  between  us,  which  will  buy 
us  an  ample  supply  of  things  for  our  voyage.  We  do  not 
intend  to  land,  but  shall  sail  on  night  and  day.  Two  of  us 
are  quite  sufficient  to  manage  the  boat,  and  we  can  sleep  by 
turns." 

"  Thirteen  dollars  will  be  quite  enough  if  you  have  fine 
weather  and  fair  winds,  but  it  would  not  go  far  if  you  have 
to  stop." 

"I  don't  think  there  is  any  fear  of  bad  winds.  There 
would  hardly  be  two  storms  one  after  another  at  the  end 
of  the  month  of  May;  but  indeed  I  do  not  think  we  should 
run  short  of  money  were  we  to  be  eight  or  nine  days  on 
the  voyage.  The  wine  is  only,  I  suppose,  about  sixpence  a 
litre,  and  if  we  reckon  a  litre  a  day  each  of  wine,  and  allow 
half  a  franc  each  for  bread  and  as  much  for  meat,  our 
victuals  will  only  cost  us  a  dollar  and  a  half  a  day,  and  we 
could  treat  ourselves  to  a  franc's  worth  of  fruit  and  still 
have  enough  money  to  last  us  a  week." 

The  priest  smiled.  "Well,  sir,  at  that  rate  you  can  no 
doubt  do  it  comfortably,  and  I  admit  that  your  thirteen 
dollars  will  be  ample  if  you  make  the  run  in  five  days,  which 
you  certainly  will  do,  unless  you  get  the  wind  right  in  your 
teeth." 

They  dined  at  the  priest's  house,  and  he  provided  beds  for 
two  of  them,  and  found  accommodation  for  the  others  in 
some  of  the  cottages.  They  did  their  shopping  that  after- 
noon, and  arranged  to  start  at  daybreak  the  next  morning. 
This  they  succeeded  in  doing,  after  thanking  the  good  priest 
very  heartily  for  his  hospitality.  Many  of  the  villagers  had 
been  down  on  the  previous  day  to  look  at  the  boat  that  had 
lived  through  such  a  gale,  and  some  of  the  others  had  now 
come  to  see  them  off.  They  headed  east  so  as  to  make  the 
shore  as  soon  as  possible,  for  they  agreed  that  as  they  would 
have  nothing  to  guide  them  in  case  of  thick  weather  coming 
on,  it  was  best  to  make  the  mainland,  and  then  follow  it 
down  at  a  distance  of  a  mile  or  so.  The  wind  was  blowing 


70  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

now  from  the  northwest,  and,  spreading  their  full  canvas, 
they  ran  down  rapidly  past  the  island,  and  three  hours  after 
saw  the  French  coast  ahead. 

They  were  now  in  high  spirits.  They  had  made  a  won- 
derful voyage,  and  were  able  to  chat  gaily  over  the  talk 
there  would  be  at  San  Sebastian  concerning  their  disap- 
pearance. 

"I  only  hope  there  won't  be  another  fight  before  we  are 
back,"  Arthur  said ;  "  that  would  be  horribly  annoying.  If 
I  were  certain  of  that,  I  should  feel  quite  happy  over  our 
adventure." 

The  weather  continued  fine  throughout  their  voyage.  The 
wind  was  somewhat  light,  but  sufficient  to  take  them  along 
at  between  four  and  five  miles  an  hour,  and  on  the  evening 
of  the  third  day  after  starting  they  saw  the  highlands  of 
Spain  rising  in  front  of  them.  On  the  following  morning 
they  ran  into  the  harbour  of  San  Sebastian,  where  they  were 
'  hailed  as  if  returning  from  the  grave  by  their  companions, 
who  had  given  them  up  for  lost. 

"We  certainly  should  have  been,  if  it  hadn't  been  for 
Hallett,"  Sinclair  said.  "  He  kept  his  wits  about  him  the 
whole  time,  got  us  to  rig  a  shelter,  and  stuck  to  the  helm 
as  long  as  steering  could  do  us  any  good." 

The  general  himself  sent  for  them  and  heard  their  account 
of  the  voyage. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "all  is  well  that  ends  well,  and  I  con- 
gratulate you  on  your  marvellous  escape.  Moreover,  you 
have  lost  nothing,  for  there  has  been  no  more  fighting  since 
you  left." 


A   BAIL   WAS   HOISTED   AND   THEY   RAN   OUT   MERRILY 


A   FURIOUS    STRUGGLE  71 

CHAPTER  V 

A    FURIOUS    STRUGGLE 

HHHE  time  passed  slowly.  Skirmishing  went  on  con- 
JL  stantly.  Both  parties  worked  at  their  entrenchments. 
Shots  were  exchanged  by  the  batteries  from  time  to  time. 
|  The  soldiers  were  in  better  spirits,  as  a  certain  amount  of 
the  pay  due  was  handed  to  them,  and  for  a  time  even  the 
grumblers  were  contented.  Drilling  went  on  regularly,  and 
was  done  smartly  and  well.  Sunday  was  the  great  day  of 
the  week.  Spanish  colours  were  hoisted  early,  and  cannon 
fired  a  salute.  The  church  bells  began  to  ring,  and  every 
Spaniard,  male  and  female,  rich  and  poor,  started  by  six 
o'clock  for  the  Cathedral,  which  was  so  crowded  that  very 
many  were  forced  to  kneel  outside  on  the  plaza  in  front  of  it, 
the  other  churches  being  all  taken  up  as  magazines  and  store- 
houses. At  seven  o'clock  the  service  was  over,  the  shopkeep- 
ers began  to  open  their  stores,  and  country  people  and  others 
thronged  the  great  square. 

Although  firing  went  on  as  usual,  sports  were  held  down 
on  the  sands.  When  the  market  was  cleared  away,  the  plaza 
was  soon  filled  with  dancers,  principally  girls,  who  danced 
to  the  guitar.  In  the  crowd  were  Spanish  and  English 
officers,  grave  dons,  all  the  better  class  of  the  town,  the 
women  in  their  black  silk  dresses  and  mantillas,  peasants, 
beggars,  soldiers,  and  sailors.  Many  would  stroll  to  the  ram- 
parts and  watch  the  firing  till  eight  o'clock,  at  which  hour 
the  Spaniards  all  went  to  bed,  and  the  streets  were  quiet 
save  for  an  occasional  drunken  soldier  and  the  patrol  parties. 

Then  there  was  another  long  interval  without  pay,  which 
caused  serious  disaffection.  Several  of  the  regiments  broke 
into  open  mutiny,  and  absolutely  refused  either  to  obey 
orders  or  to  leave  their  barracks.  Some  of  these  mutinies 
lasted  for  a  fortnight,  and  were  caused  partly  by  want  of  pay 
and  partly  because  many  of  the  men  believed  that  they  had 


WITH    THE    BBITISH    LEGION 

enlisted  only  for  a  year,  and  now  that  the  period  of  their 
service  was  drawing  to  an  end,  considered  that  ships  should 
be  arriving  to  take  them  home. 

The  officers  were  greatly  puzzled  what  to  do.  It  was  ex- 
tremely doubtful  whether  any  of  the  regiments  that  were 
still  obedient  would,  if  called  upon  to  do  so,  fire  upon  the 
mutineers,  and  it  was  morally  certain  that  if  they  did  so  the 
disaffection  would  be  so  great  that  the  whole  Legion  would 
fall  to  pieces.  The  officers  went  about  among  the  mutineers 
trying  to  get  them  to  return  to  their  duty.  Some  of  the 
regiments  were  pacified  by  distributing  small  sums  of  money 
among  them,  others  were  reduced  by  stopping  the  supply  of 
all  rations,  and  gradually  things  settled  down  again. 

The  desultory  fire  that  had  been  going  on  for  so  many 
weeks  was  succeeded,  on  the  1st  of  October,  by  a  series  of 
attacks  by  the  Carlists. 

Heavy  firing  broke  out  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
shot  after  shot  falling  in  the  town,  and  so  well  aimed  were 
they  that  none  doubted  but  that  the  gunner  was  one  John 
Wilson,  a  deserter  from  the  Legion,  who  had  once  been  in 
the  Royal  Artillery.  There  had  been  many  desertions  from 
time  to  time,  and  the  Carlists  were  constantly  shouting  in- 
vitations to  our  men  to  come  over  to  them,  promising  them 
good  pay  and  good  treatment — offers  very  enticing  to  men 
on  small  rations  and  no  pay. 

As  the  fire  broke  out  columns  of  Carlist  infantry  ad- 
vanced, driving  the  pickets  before  them.  Some  of  these 
threw  themselves  into  houses,  and  defended  themselves 
against  overwhelming  numbers.  The  3rd  Regiment  and  the 
Rifles  were  the  first  to  reach  the  scene  of  action,  many  of 
them  running  up  in  their  shirts,  or  with  their  tunics  all 
unbuttoned,  having  leapt  to  their  feet,  seized  their  rifles, 
and  hurried  off  without  a  moment's  delay.  Drums  were  beat- 
ing and  bugles  sounding  all  over  the  town,  the  non-commis- 
sioned officers  turning  the  men  out  as  fast  as  they  could. 

The  officers  were  riding  about  and  getting  the  men  to  fall 


A   FURIOUS    STRUGGLE  73 

in.  As  they  arrived  they  were  formed  up  behind  walls  and 
other  shelters.  The  3rd  and  the  Kifles  had  checked  the 
Carlist  advance.  As  the  8th  Kegiment  formed  up,  a  cannon 
skot  from  the  Carlist  fort  on  the  Ametza  Hill  fell  close  to 
a  group  of  officers,  many  of  whom  were  knocked  down  by  the 
stones  thrown  up,  and  then  went  through  the  column,  kill- 
ing one  man  and  knocking  down  half  a  dozen  others.  The 
men,  however,  laughed  and  joked  among  themselves.  The 
next  ball  went  right  through  the  horse  of  a  mounted  officer, 
killed  two  soldiers  behind  him,  and  a  woman  who  was  out 
looking  for  her  husband's  body,  having  just  got  news  that 
he  had  been  killed. 

Our  artillery  had  now  come  on  the  scene,  and,  directed  by 
Colonel  Colquhoun,  an  admirable  and  scientific  officer,  soon 
got  the  range.  He  himself  levelled  one  of  the  cannon  at  a 
column  of  Carlists  a  mile  distant.  The  ball  burst  just  at 
the  right  moment  and  committed  great  havoc,  and  the  gun- 
ners of  the  other  pieces  in  the  battery,  under  his  instruc- 
tions, opened  such  a  terrible  fire  upon  the  column  that  it 
broke  and  disappeared.  He  then  laid  three  guns  on  the 
Ametza  fort.  They  were  fired  simultaneously,  and  to  the 
delight  of  the  soldiers  they  burst  on  the  parapet,  carrying 
death  and  confusion  among  the  gunners,  and  killing,  among 
others,  the  deserter  who  had  given  them  so  much  trouble. 
Up  till  ten  o'clock  the  Carlists  maintained  the  offensive,  but 
at  that  hour  the  Lancers  came  on  to  the  field.  They  charged 
in  gallant  style  on  the  south-east  side  of  the  Ametza  hill, 
and  the  Carlists  gave  way  and  ran  until  they  reached  their 
breastworks.  Here  it  was  impossible  for  the  cavalry  to  fol- 
low, and  they  at  once  drew  off  under  a  very  heavy  fire.  They 
then  charged  again  and  again  at  the  various  parties  scat- 
tered over  the  plain,  moving  in  as  perfect  order  as  if  on 
parade,  and  doing  great  execution.  But  for  the  fact  that  the 
Spanish  entrenchments  were  so  extensive  as  to  afford  shelter 
for  the  scattered  fugitives,  the  loss  inflicted  upon  them 
would  have  been  extremely  heavy. 


74:  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

The  special  object  of  the  Carlist  attack  had  been  the  vil- 
lage and  fort  of  Alza.  This  was  defended  by  two  Spanish 
regiments,  one  of  the  Legion,  and  a  battery,  and  these  re- 
pelled the  attack  with  great  slaughter. 

A  dog  belonging  to  the  Legion,  which  had  taken  part  in 
every  fight,  always  marching  at  the  head  of  the  regiment, 
distinguished  himself  greatly  in  this  battle.  Strangely 
4  enough  he  never  barked  except  in  face  of  the  enemy.  He 
'had  been  twice  wounded, > and  on  this  occasion,  in  company 
'with  a  Spanish  friend  of  his  own  species,  advanced  and  re- 
treated with  the  Lancers.  They  had  gone  on  for  some  dis- 
tance, where  the  balls  were  flying  thick,  but  during  one  ad- 
vance the  Spaniard  tumbled  over  and  came  back  hopping  on 
three  feet.  Briton  looked  back,  but  would  not  retreat,  and 
stood  barking  his  defiance  at  the  enemy.  Presently  a  ball 
slightly  wounded  him  in  the  throat.  He  returned  to  his 
companion,  who  was  hobbling  away,  and  tried  to  turn  him, 
and  repeatedly  offered  to  lead  another  charge  by  advancing 
a  short  distance  himself.  Presently  he  got  another  wound 
on  the  head.  The  men  lying  in  shelter  called  to  him,  and  he 
came  in  and  got  his  wound  partially  dressed,  and  then  at 
once  set  off  again.  His  Spanish  friend  had  in  the  mean- 
time been  killed,  and  Briton  having  in  vain  tried  to  make 
him  rise,  came  back  to  the  men  and  endeavoured  to  get  them 
to  go  out  and  carry  his  friend  in. 

The  National  Guard  of  San  Sebastian  turned  out  well. 
They  had  no  regular  uniform,  but  carried  a  bandolier  filled 
with  cartridges,  and  their  rifles;  and  many  of  their  women, 
who  came  out  with  the  men,  took  shelter  in  the  woods  and 
assisted  in  carrying  in  the  wounded. 

General  Evans  rode  about  with  the  greatest  coolness 
through  the  heavy  fire,  but  although  hundreds  of  bullets  were 
aimed  at  him  he  was  only  hit  once  through  the  ear. 

So  the  fight  continued  all  day  until  night  put  an  end  to 
it.  No  attempt  was  made  to  storm  the  Spanish  position. 
As  General  Evans  mentioned  in  his  despatches,  this  could 


A    FURIOUS    STRUGGLE  75 

not  have  been  effected  without  the  loss  of  at  least  five  hun- 
dred men,  and  the  capture  of  the  entrenchments  would  have 
been  dear  at  the  price. 

After  this  battle  there  was  an  interval  of  quiet.  Arrange- 
ments had  been  made  by  General  Evans  with  the  Spanish 
commanders  that  he  would  not  take  the  offensive  until  they 
were  ready  to  co-operate  with  him.  The  force  was  there- 
fore again  set  to  work  to  entrench,  and  as  the  men  received 
a  pint  of  wine  and  threepence  three-farthings  a  day  in  ad- 
dition to  the  usual  twopence  halfpenny,  the  service  was  a 
very  popular  one.  The  extra  pay  sufficed  to  keep  the  sol- 
diers from  grumbling,  and  the  extra  food  that  they  were  able 
to  purchase  put  them  into  better  condition. 

One  of  the  well-known  figures  in  the  town  was  General 
Jauregui.  He  had  been  in  turn  a  shepherd,  half  soldier,  and 
half  guerilla;  but  when  the  war  broke  out  he  raised  a  body 
of  volunteers  for  the  queen,  and  soon  attained  the  rank  of 
general.  He  was  not  liked  by  the  officers  under  him,  many 
of  whom  were  nobles,  but  he  was  beloved  by  his  men.  He 
had  many  relations  in  the  ranks,  and  was  not  ashamed  to 
sit  down  and  eat  and  talk  with  them.  He  possessed  the  rare 
peculiarity  in  a  Spaniard  of  being  fat. 

Months  passed;  and  not  until  the  9th  of  March  did  it 
become  known  that  the  advance  was  to  take  place  the  next 
morning.  No  secret  was  made  of  it,  as  the  general's  desire 
was  that  the  Carlists  should  gather  to  resist  him,  for  he 
wished  to  strike  a  heavy  blow.  Each  man  was  given  a  peseta 
(equal  to  tenpence  halfpenny)  to  buy  tobacco  and  other  nec- 
essaries, and  the  shops  of  the  town  were  crowded  all  day  with 
British  soldiers.  A  good  deal  of  the  money  was  invested  in 
chocolate,  for  it  was  thought  probable  that  the  battle  would 
last  more  than  one  day,  in  which  case  rations  would  not  be 
served  out. 

There  was  no  going  to  bed  that  night.  Fires  were  kept 
blazing  everywhere,  and  cooking-pots  were  hung  over  them. 
Extra  flints  were  served  out,  and  new  shoes  for  those  in  need 


76  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGIOtf 

of  them,  and  men  exchanged  with  each  other  the  addresses 
of  their  relations  in  order  that  news  might  be  sent  to  them 
if  they  were  killed.  All  night  the  men  sat  and  joked,  until 
an  officer  went  round  and  ordered  them  to  fall  in  quietly. 
The  Spanish  regiments  had  already  turned  out  and  taken 
up  their  places,  some  on  the  glacis  and  some  in  close  column 
behind  one  of  the  batteries. 

As  day  broke  the  men  were  called  to  attention,  and  almost 
simultaneously  the  batteries  opened  fire.  A  column  marched 
against  the  Ametza  with  such  resolution  that  its  garrison 
evacuated  it  hurriedly,  leaving  many  thousands  of  rounds  of 
ammunition  behind  them.  The  fighting  was  desperate  all 
along  the  line.  One  rocky  hill  was  taken  and  retaken  five 
times  during  the  day.  The  terror  of  the  scene  was  added  to 
by  the  fact  that  the  furze  on  the  hills  caught  fire  from  the 
explosion  of  the  shells,  and  many  wounded  were  burned  to 
death.  Many  of  the  places  were  thickly  dotted  with  the  red 
coats  of  the  Legion. 

The  fight  continued  all  day,  and  the  troops  lay  down  and 
slept  on  the  ground  they  had  won.  Upwards  of  a  thousand 
had  fallen;  and  the  Carlists  must  have  suffered  much  more 
severely,  for  they  had  been  exposed  to  the  fire  of  artillery 
while  they  themselves  had  no  guns  in  action.  The  next  day 
passed  quietly,  the  artillerymen  being  occupied  in  getting 
their  guns  up  on  to  the  height  they  had  won.  On  the  sec- 
ond day  after  the  battle,  in  spite  of  a  pouring  rain,  the  ad- 
vance began  again.  The  artillery  cleared  the  way,  turning 
the  Carlists  out  of  the  houses  they  occupied;  the  troops 
crossed  the  river  by  a  bridge  of  boats,  and  moved  on  without 
serious  opposition,  and  were  glad  when  the  order  came  to 
halt  and  occupy  the.  houses  of  the  deserted  village. 

A  little  beyond  the  village  there  was  a  hard  fight  the  next 
day,  but  at  night  the  troops  fell  back  to  the  houses  they  had 
occupied  in  the  morning.  The  rain  still  came  down.  On 
the  following  morning  at  twelve  it  cleared.  The  Oarlists 
lay  concealed  until  the  columns  got  very  near  to  them,  and 


A   FURIOUS    STRUGGLE  77 

then  opened  a  tremendous  fire.  At  three  o'clock  the  en- 
gagement had  become  general.  Some  of  the  troops  fired 
away  all  their  ammunition  and  then  charged  with  the  bayo- 
net, before  which  weapon  the  Carlists  always  fell  back, 
although  they  would  stand  against  the  heaviest  musketry  fire. 
The  strongest  point  of  defence  of  the  Carlists  was  the  Venta 
Hill.  Round  this  the  battle  raged  all  day,  and  in  the  after- 
noon it  was  decided  to  make  a  final  attempt  to  take  it. 

The  8th  Regiment  of  the  Legion  was  in  camp,  and  was 
about  to  start  on  the  attack  when  General  Evans  rode  up. 

"You  cannot  go  on  with  your  one  regiment,  Colonel 
Hogg,"  he  said ;  "  there  will  be  some  more  up  very  shortly." 

"  Oh,  allow  me,  general,  to  go  on,"  Colonel  Hogg  said. 
"I  am  sure  we  can  get  through  the  breast-work;"  and  then 
turning  to  the  regiment,  which  was  in  close  column,  said: 
"  Men,  would  you  rather  go  on  by  yourselves  or  wait  for 
others  to  come  on  to  help  you?  We  have  a  chance  here 
that  we  will  not  divide  with  another  regiment." 

The  men  answered  with  a  tremendous  cheer. 

"  Go  on,  then,  brave  fellows ! "  General  Evans  said,  and 
the  regiment  advanced.  The  artillery  were  hard  at  work, 
and  the  scream  of  the  rockets  sounded  over  the  din  of  the 
musketry  and  guns.  The  regiment  with  a  loud  cheer  emerged 
from  the  cover  which  concealed  them,  and  as  they  did  so  a 
blaze  of  fire  ran  along  all  the  enemy's  defences.  The  four 
mounted  officers  galloped  at  their  head.  Every  man  cheered 
as  he  ran  down  into  a  road  and  then  up  again  through 
hedges  and  across  broken  ground.  A  storm  of  bullets  swept 
through  them,  and  the  guns  on  the  heights  played  upon 
them  with  grape,  but  fortunately  most  of  the  missiles  went 
overhead.  They  reached  the  first  barricade.  The  colonel 
was  the  first  to  mount  it,  and  some  others  climbed  up;  but 
the  majority  were  so  out  of  breath  with  their  shouting 
and  the  pace  at  which  they  had  run,  that  they  were  forced 
to  pause.  The  barricade  was  built  of  turf,  and  was  too  steep 
to  be  climbed,  but  the  men  set  to  work  to  tear  it  down  with 


78  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

their  hands,  and  soon  made  a  passage  through  which  they 
could  pass. 

There  was  no  active  opposition  here,  for  our  guns  sent 
their  shells  so  thickly  among  the  Carlists  that  it  was  impos- 
sible for  them  to  withstand  them.  As  the  8th  poured 
through,  they  found  the  ground  nearly  covered  with  dead. 
The  bugles  now  sounded  a  halt,  but  the  men  were  not  to  be 
restrained,  and  eagerly  pressed  forward  till  they  reached  the 
top  of  the  hill,  which  the  Carlists  had  evacuated  as  they 
neared  it.  Here  a  battery  of  four  guns  was  taken,  and  the 
flag  flying  above  them  hauled  down.  In  the  battery  were 
found  two  barrels,  one  of  wine  and  the  other  of  spirits,  and 
a  tremendous  rush  took  place.  While  the  men  were  fran- 
tically fighting,  there  was  an  explosion  and  a  shout  of  "  There 
is  a  mine  underneath ! "  and  a  frightful  rush  to  get  away 
from  the  spot  took  place.  In  the  midst  of  this  a  soldier 
calmly  walked  forward  and  filled  his  canteen  and  that  of  two 
of  his  comrades.  This  action  considerably  reassured  the 
others,  and  the  panic  soon  abated  when  it  was  found  that 
there  were  no  more  explosions.  It  turned  out  afterwards 
that  the  man  who  had  shown  such  coolness  had  not  been  able 
to  get  near  the  casks,  and  had  quietly  taken  out  some  of  his 
ammunition  from  his  cartridge  box,  laid  it  on  the  ground 
under  the  feet  of  those  fighting  to  get  at  the  liquor,  and 
shaken  out  the  fire  from  his  pipe  on  to  it.  However,  the 
contents  of  the  casks  were  soon  finished.  The  regiment  was 
then  re-formed,  and  as  it  was  dark  they  lay  down  in  the 
fields.  They  had  won  their  way  thus  far,  but  they  had 
reached  their  limit. 

The  news  of  the  fighting  had  been  carried  by  active  men 
all  over  the  country.  It  was  evident  that  the  further  ad- 
vance of  the  Legion  would  place  them  in  possession  of  the 
main  road  to  France,  and  reinforcements  were  called  up 
from  all  sides.  Already  Evans  was  opposed  by  a  force  far 
more  numerous  than  his  own,  and  when  the  news  of  his  ad- 
vance arrived  every  Carlist  within  fifty  miles  was  on  the 


A    FUKIOUS    STKUGGLE  79 

road.  Espartero,  who  was  with  his  army  round  Bilbao,  had 
promised  to  march,  and  General  Saarsfield,  who  commanded 
another  royal  army,  was  also  to  have  moved,  so  as  to  occupy 
the  enemy's  attention,  but  neither  had  done  so.  The  Car- 
list  army  had  been,  a  week  before,  withdrawn  from  before 
Saarsfield,  and  during  the  night  of  the  15th,  ten  thousand 
men  slipped  away  from  the  force  facing  that  of  Espartero 
and  crossed  the  mountains  to  assist  their  friends. 

Espartero  himself  had  ridden,  when  he  heard  of  the  prog- 
ress that  Evans  was  making,  to  see  with  his  own  eyes  how 
matters  were  going  on.  The  fighting  had  again  begun,  and 
the  Carlists  had  already  been  driven  back  into  the  town  of 
Hernani,  when  Don  Sebastian,  one  of  the  sons  of  Carlos, 
arrived  with  ten  thousand  infantry  and  three  hundred  cav- 
alry. These  marched  out,  column  after  column,  and  the 
vast  superiority  of  numbers  enabled  them  to  not  only  show  in 
force  in  face  of  the  allied  army,  but  to  threaten  both  its 
flanks.  For  a  time  the  Legion  and  its  Spanish  allies  held 
their  ground  firmly,  but  they  had  considerably  more  than 
twice  their  number  opposed  to  them,  and  the  flanks  were 
gradually  driven  in  towards  the  centre.  The  Kifles,  who 
were  on  one  flank,  had  fought  with  obstinate  bravery;  and 
on  the  other,  two  Irish  regiments  stubbornly  faced  an  over- 
whelming force  of  Carlists,  and  were  engaged  in  a  hand-to- 
hand  fight  with  them.  Colonel  Cotter,  of  the  9th  Cork,  was 
conspicuous  for  his  gallantry.  Alone  he  rode  repeatedly  into 
the  leading  Carlist  ranks,  until  he  was  completely  surrounded 
and  fell  fighting  to  the  last. 

The  6th,  7th,  and  8th  Regiments,  who  were  in  reserve, 
were  soon  drawn  forward  into  the  fight.  The  6th  were  first 
called  up.  The  whole  of  the  Carlist  cavalry  dashed  for- 
ward to  attack  the  leading  company,  which  alone  was  avail- 
able to  meet  them,  but  were  received  with  such  a  tremen- 
dous volley  that  they  were  driven  backward  in  great  con- 
fusion, with  immense  loss.  Two  howitzers  of  the  Marine 
Artillery  sent  showers  of  grape  among  them,  and  of  the  fine 


80  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

regiment  which  had  advanced,  a  shattered  group  of  fugitives 
returned.  The  Carlists,  working  round,  threatened  the  ar- 
tillery, and  these  were  only  saved  by  desperate  charges  of  the 
Lancers  and  the  staunchness  of  two  companies  of  the  6th. 
The  Spanish  regiments  fought  but  badly,  and  by  their  re- 
treat exposed  the  Legion  to  a  heavy  cross-fire,  which  com- 
pelled them  to  fall  back.  The  8th,  the  last  regiment  of  the 
reserve,  who  had  been  lying  concealed  in  a  hollow,  were  then 
called  up.  Two  hundred  of  the  wounded  had  been  left  be- 
hind in  a  large  house,  and  these,  as  the  Carlists  advanced, 
were  bayoneted  to  a  man.  The  8th  went  boldly  forward, 
and  answering  nobly  to  Colonel  Hogg's  call  upon  them  to 
charge,  rushed  under  a  tremendous  fire  to  a  wall,  on  the 
other  side  of  which  a  strong  force  of  the  Carlists  stood, 
while  many  were  already  crossing  it. 

The  8th  dashed  forward  and  bayoneted  all  who  had  crossed 
the  wall,  and  for  a  time  fought  the  Carlist  battalion  crowded 
behind  it ;  but  other  troops  were  pushing  on  both  to  the  right 
and  left,  so,  threatened  on  both  flanks,  and  with  an  over- 
powering force  in  front,  the  8th  sullenly  fell  back.  Broken 
up  into  parties,  they  still  fought  desperately,  and  were  only 
saved  by  a  furious  charge  by  the  Lancers.  The  Carlists,  un- 
prepared for  cavalry,  broke  in  confusion,  and  thus  the  sur- 
vivors of  the  8th  were  able  to  draw  off.  The  regiments  of 
Chapelgorris  had  distinguished  themselves  during  the  day. 
They  had  refused  to  be  brigaded  with  the  other  Spanish 
regiments,  but  fought  by  the  side  of  the  British  with  the 
most  desperate  valour;  they  were  indeed  almost  annihilated. 
Nevertheless,  the  few  survivors  of  these  and  the  8th  nobly 
beat  back  an  attack  of  the  Carlists.  There  was  a  regiment 
of  Royal  Marines  on  the  ground,  but  these  were  prevented 
by  Lord  John  Haye,  who  commanded  them,  from  taking  any 
prominent  part  in  the  fight,  and  they  lost  but  eighteen  men 
wounded  and  none  killed,  while  the  Legion  had  lost  very 
many  hundreds,  two  or  three  regiments  being  almost  wiped 
out.  The  retreating  force  passed  the  height  of  Venta,  which 


A   FURIOUS    STRUGGLE  81 

they  had  so  gallantly  won  four  days  before,  and  only  halted 
when  they  reached  the  lines  they  had  occupied  previous  to 
the  10th. 

Arthur  had  borne  his  full  share  in  the  incidents  of  that 
terrible  day.  He  had  fought  as  fearlessly  as  the  best,  and 
had  brought  the  remains  of  his  company  out  of  the  fray,  his 
captain  being  among  the  many  officers  who  had  fallen.  So 
great  had  been  the  slaughter  that  he  found  himself  at  the 
end  of  the  day  high  in  the  list  of  lieutenants.  He  had  re- 
ceived three  wounds,  but  all  were  slight.  He  had  broken  his 
sword  in  a  hand-to-hand  encounter  with  a  Carlist  officer,  but 
had  ended  the  fight  by  striking  his  opponent  full  in  the  face 
with  the  pommel,  and  stretching  him  senseless  on  the  ground. 
When  they  reached  the  lines  he  went  across  to  Roper's  com- 
pany, and  to  his  great  pleasure  found  that  his  friend  had 
escaped  with  only  a  bullet  through  his  arm. 

"  This  has  been  a  dreadful  day,  Mr.  Hallett !  " 

"  A  terrible  day,  Roper !  Three  to  one  against  us,  I  should 
say  there  were." 

"  But  we  made  a  stiff  fight  of  it,  sir;  and  the  Legion  has 
a  right  to  be  proud  of  itself.  If  the  Spanish  regiments  had 
not  given  way,  I  think  we  might  have  held  our  own  with 
them." 

"I  doubt  whether  we  could  in  any  case,  Roper.  They 
were  altogether  too  strong  for  us.  Still,  we  should  have 
done  better  if  the  Spaniards  had  stood,  and  might  at  any 
rate  have  retired  in  good  order  to  the  Venta  Hill,  and  held 
that  against  any  attack  the  Carlists  might  have  made.  I 
hope  I  shall  never  see  such  fighting  again." 

"  The  same  here,"  Roper  said.  "  I  think  a  thousand  of  us 
can  do  fairly  well  against  two  thousand  of  the  Carlists;  but 
when  it  comes  to  twenty  thousand  against  about  four  thou- 
sand, the  odds  are  too  great  altogether,  for  no  one  can  say 
that  the  Carlists  don't  fight  well.  It  was  lucky,  sir,  that  the 
Lancers  arrived  when  they  did,  for  I  don't  think  any  of  us 
would  have  got  away  alive  if  it  hadn't  been  for  them.  I 


82  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

quite  made  up  my  mind  that  we  had  all  got  to  go  down,  when 
they  came  thundering  up." 

"It  was  indeed  a  most  fortunate  thing,  Roper.  During 
the  last  part  of  the  day  I  had  been  fighting  with  a  musket 
among  the  men,  for  I  broke  my  sword,  and  pistols  are  of  no 
use  in  a  fight  like  that.  Well,  I  am  going  off  now  to  see  if 
I  can  be  of  any  good  in  the  hospital;  the  surgeons  must 
have  their  hands  more  than  full." 

Arthur's  offer  of  aid  was  thankfully  received,  and  he 
worked  all  night,  assisting  the  surgeons  by  holding  the  pa- 
tients while  the  amputations  were  being  carried  out,  hand- 
ing them  sponges  and  hot  water,  and  generally  aiding  them 
in  their  operations.  When  morning  came  he  was  so  fatigued 
that  he  made  his  way  with  difficulty  to  his  quarters  in  the 
town,  where  he  flung  himself  down  to  snatch  a  few  hours' 
sleep. 

There  was  a  great  hush  over  the  camp  during  the  day. 
Then  only,  as  the  men  wandered  about  asking  questions  con- 
cerning missing  comrades,  did  the  full  extent  of  the  disaster 
that  had  befallen  them  make  itself  felt.  The  gaps  in  the 
ranks  were  terrible.  Their  missing  comrades  were  all  gone, 
for  the  Carlists  had  given  no  quarter.  Even  if  not  seriously 
wounded,  all  who  fell  into  their  hands  were  either  shot  or 
bayoneted  by  them.  It  was  hard,  after  having  fought  their 
way  victoriously  for  three  days,  that  such  a  misfortune 
should  befall  the  Legion!  Their  one  consolation  was  that 
every  man  had  done  his  duty,  not  one  had  turned  his  back 
to  his  foe. 

The  gaps  among  the  officers  had  been  terrible.  Several  of 
the  regiments  had  lost  all  their  field-officers ;  others  had  suf- 
fered greatly.  Deep  were  the  execrations  upon  the  Spanish 
generals,  who  should  have  detained  the  Carlist  armies  facing 
them,  but  who  by  their  lethargy  had  allowed  some  twenty 
thousand  men  to  slip  away  and  join  those  with  whom  the 
Legion  had  been  so  successfully  engaged;  and  not  a  few  of 
the  men  would  willingly  have  obeyed  an  order  to  attack  the 


A   FUBIOUS    STRUGGLE  83 

Spanish  regiments,  who  had  deserted  them  as  soon  as  the 
fighting  began. 

At  first  it  was  anticipated  that  the  Carlists  would  take 
advantage  of  their  success  and  attempt  to  capture  San  Se- 
bastian, and  there  was  a  general  hope  that  they  would  do  so, 
for  all  felt  confident  that  they  could  resist  any  attack  that 
might  be  made.  The  entrenchments  were  very  formidable, 
and  a  number  of  heavy  guns  were  mounted  upon  them.  The 
guns  of  the  ships,  too,  would  give  their  support. 

But  the  Carlists  were  well  satisfied  with  their  success.  The 
greater  portion  of  the  troops  that  had  come  from  Durango, 
and  the  force  opposed  to  Espartero  had  marched  away  again, 
leaving  only  a  sufficient  number  to  oppose  any  further  at- 
tempt on  the  part  of  the  defenders  of  San  Sebastian  to  take 
the  offensive. 

Of  this,  however,  there  was  but  little  prospect.  Scarce 
three  thousand  five  hundred  out  of  the  ten  thousand  men  of 
the  Legion  were  fit  for  service;  disease  and  battle  had  ac- 
counted for  the  rest.  Besides,  of  the  two  years  for  which 
they  had  enlisted  there  were  but  a  few  months  to  run.  Had 
they  been  treated  well,  by  far  the  greater  portion  would  will- 
ingly have  remained.  At  first  they  had  felt  but  small  in-v 
terest  in  the  struggle  in  which  they  had  enlisted.  Most  of 
them  were  ne'er-do-weels — men  who  had  been  glad  to  accept 
any  offer  with  the  prospect  of  giving  them  a  living;  the 
Christinos  were  no  more  to  them  than  the  Carlists.  Now 
the  case  was  altogether  different — the  Carlists  had  become 
their  personal  enemies.  They  would  not  have  come  to  hate 
them  for  their  doings  in  a  fair  fight.  But  the  fact  that  they/ 
massacred  every  man  who  fell  into  their  hands,  whether; 
wounded  or  not,  had  raised  in  the  minds  of  the  soldiers  a  feel- 
ing of  undying  hatred  and  a  burning  desire  for  revenge. 
They  had  not  received  the  treatment  they  had  a  right  to/ 
expect.  They  had  never  been  properly  fed  since  they  landed ; 
they  were  still  months  in  arrears  of  their  pay,  and  then  only 
irregularly  received  the  wretched  pittance  of  twopence  half- 


84  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

penny  a  day.  If  the  Spanish  government  had  deliberately 
set  themselves  to  drive  the  regiments  into  mutiny,  they  could 
not  have  gone  about  it  better,  ,and  it  was  certain  that  when 
the  time  expired  few  indeed  would  consent  to  remain  any 
longer  in  the  ranks. 

The  officers  were  no  less  indignant  than  the  men.  Their 
pay  was  nine  months  in  arrear,  and  those  who  had  no  means 
of  their  own  had  only  subsisted  by  the  assistance  of  others 
better  off  than  themselves.  Considering  what  they  went 
through,  it  was  almost  a  matter  for  surprise  that  the  whole 
Legion  did  not  embrace  the  offers  of  the  Carlist  emissaries, 
who  were  constantly  at  work  trying  to  sap  their  loyalty  to 
the  Christino  cause,  and  go  over  in  a  body  to  the  Carlist 
lines.  After  the  reverses  that  had  befallen  them,  the 
Spanish  government  seemed  more  indifferent  than  ever  to 
their  sufferings;  only  very  occasionally,  ridiculously  small 
amounts  were  sent  to  them,  sufficient  to  pay  the  soldiers  a 
few  pesetas  apiece.  In  these  circumstances  it  was  not  sur- 
prising that  the  drill  became  slack  and  discipline  relaxed. 
The  officers,  deeply  indignant,  could  not  bring  themselves 
to  be  severe  upon  the  soldiers,  who  suffered  even  more  than 
themselves,  and  so  took  no  notice  of  minor  acts  of  insub- 
ordination. 

Shortly  after  the  battle  Arthur  had  received  his  usual 
quarterly  letter  from  his  uncle.  "  My  dear  Arthur,"  it  ran, 
"  herewith  I  enclose  order  as  usual  on  Messrs.  Callao,  of  San 
Sebastian,  for  thirty  pounds.  We  are  all  very  glad  to  find 
that  you  have  passed  through  the  last  battle  without  serious 
wounds.  You  have  been  most  fortunate  in  that  respect. 
Your  term  of  service  will  end  in  a  few  months'  time,  and  we 
trust  that  at  its  conclusion  you  will  return  home.  I  am 
afraid  that  after  the  life  you  have  been  leading  we  can 
hardly  hope  that  you  will  resume  your  studies — indeed,  it 
would  not  be  reasonable  to  expect  it.  Still,  you  might  travel 
or  otherwise  employ  yourself  a  great  deal  better  surely  than 
in  getting  yourself  shot  at,  and  that  in  a  cause  which — al- 


A    FURIOUS    STRUGGLE  85 

though  no  doubt  you  now  feel  some  interest — cannot  affect 
you  in  the  same  way  as  if  you  were  fighting  for  your  own 
country. 

"According  to  other  accounts,  and  from  letters  I  have 
seen  from  other  members  of  the  Legion,  you  must  have  been 
suffering  great  hardships.  No  doubt  at  San  Sebastian  these 
have  been  less  cruel  than  they  were  at  Vittoria;  still,  they 
have  been  severe.  You  tell  us  very  little  about  them,  and, 
as  I  say,  it  is  from  other  sources  that  I  form  this  opinion. 
We  are  all  obliged  to  you  for  always  writing  directly  after  a 
battle,  for  we  are  in  a  state  of  considerable  anxiety  until  we 
hear  from  you,  as  of  course  no  details  of  casualties  are  pub- 
lished; and  in  the  interval  between  the  first  report  of  the 
fighting  and  the  receipt  of  your  letter  we  are  all  very  unset- 
tled, and  your  cousins'  studies  are  greatly  deranged. 

"  We  all  talk  and  think  of  you  very  frequently,  and  I  am 
afraid  that  we  are  inclined  to  pride  ourselves  on  having  a 
relative  who  has  won  his  commission  and  distinguished  him- 
self in  Spain.  Still,  my  dear  lad,  I  do  hope  that  if  the 
term  of  service  of  the  Legion  is  to  be  extended — and  I  think 
that  it  probably  will  be — you  will  not  be  among  those  who 
remain  in  the  service.  The  risks  appear  to  be  enormous. 
More  than  half  the  Legion  are  by  this  time  either  dead  or 
invalided  home.  I  ask  you,  what  can  compensate  a  man  / 
for  running  such  risks,  especially  when,  as  in  your  case,  he  J 
is  not  driven  by  straitened  circumstances  to  incur  it  ?  You  ' 
have  done  well;  you  have,  so  to  speak,  won  your  spurs.  It 
will  be  something  to  look  back  upon  all  your  life.  Surely 
that  is  good  enough.  Your  first  enlistment  was,  to  my  mind, 
a  wild  and  foolish  business;  but  I  own  that,  annoyed  as  I/ 
then  was,  I  should  be  still  more  so  were  you  to  repeat  the 
mistake. 

"Pray  think  over  this  seriously.  Eemember,  pecuniarily 
you  have  no  need  whatever  to  remain  in  the  Legion.  You 
tell  me  that  you  have  still  most  of  the  money  I  have  sent  you 
lying  by.  You  have  but  three  more  years  to  wait  till  your 


86  WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION 

majority,  when  you  will  receive  three  hundred  pounds  a  year, 
and,  if  necessary,  I  can  add  something  to  this  amount. 

"  Your  cousins  insist  that  you  must  be  now  almost  a  man, 
as  you  say  that  you  are  over  six  feet,  and  no  doubt  the  life 
that  you  have  led  must  have  aged  you  a  good  deal  and,  I 
hope,  taken  some  of  your  foolish  recklessness  out  of  you. 
They  have  asked  me  to  say  that  they  hope  you  won't  bring 
home  a  Spanish  lady  as  a  wife,  and  I  have  assured  them  that, 
although  I  consider  you  capable  of  many  follies,  I  feel  con- 
vinced that  you  will  not  commit  such  a  crowning  one  as  that. 
They  and  my  wife  all  send  their  love,  and  their  earnest  hopes 
and  prayers,  in  which  I  join,  that  you  will  come  home  safe 
and  sound  to  us. 

"I  remain,  my  dear  Arthur, 

"  Your  affectionate  Uncle." 

To  this  Arthur  replied: — 

"  My  dear  Uncle, 

"  Many  thanks  for  your  letter  and  remittance. 
As  to  what  you  say  about  my  continuing  my  term  of  service, 
in  the  event  of  the  Legion  as  a  whole  re-enlisting  for  a 
further  term,  I  cannot  promise  to  take  any  particular  course 
at  present.  You  say  that  I  can  have  no  interest  in  the  cause 
for  which  I  am  fighting.  I  can  assure  you  that  we  have  a 
very  vivid  interest  in  it.  I  grant  that  that  was  not  the 
case  at  first,  and  that  we  looked  upon  it  in  the  mere  spirit 
of  adventure;  but  that  is  all  changed.  The  Carlists  are  not 
like  civilized  enemies;  they  behave  rather  like  wild  beasts. 
They  give  no  quarter,  and  every  poor  fellow  who  falls  into 
their  hands — officer  or  soldier — is  shot  or  bayoneted  at  once. 
Even  the  wounded  are  slaughtered  ruthlessly. 

"Now  you  can  very  well  imagine  the  state  of  fury  and 
hatred  excited  by  such  doings.  The  war  has  become  a  war 
of  revenge,  and  men,  when  they  go  into  battle,  hope  that 
if  they  are  hit  it  will  be  by  a  fatal  shot,  and  not  by  one 


A   FURIOUS    STRUGGLE  87 

which  will  lay  them  helpless  on  the  ground,  with  the  cer- 
tainty of  being  shot  or  bayoneted  in  cold  blood  unless  the 
Carlists  are  beaten,  and  we  hold  the  ground  on  which  we  have 
fought.  I  don't  say  that  this  is  entirely  the  fault  of  the 
Carlists,  for  in  the  early  part  of  the  war  the  Christines 
were  just  as  bad,  from  what  I  hear.  However,  that  is  the  f 
state  of  things  now;  and  if  the  Legion  were  but  well  treated, 
I  think  there  is  scarcely  a  man  who  would  not  willingly  ex- 
tend his  term.  The  fact  that  I  have  been  promoted  is  an- 
other reason  why  I  might  be  tempted  to  go  on.  Of  course, 
it  will  make  no  difference  to  me  afterwards  whether  I  hold 
the  rank  of  lieutenant  or  colonel  at  the  end  of  the  war;  but 
now  that  I  have  gone  into  the  thing  I  want  to  see  the  end 
of  it. 

"  However,  I  do  not  think  that  you  need  feel  uneasy  on 
that  score,  for  I  am  convinced  that,  when  the  term  has  ex- 
pired, the  greater  part  of  the  Legion  will  take  their  dis- 
charge. Their  treatment  has  been  so  scandalous  that  I  be- 
lieve that  if  the  order  was  given  for  the  Legion  to  march 
to  Madrid,  fight  their  way  through  all  obstacles,  and  hang 
every  member  of  the  government,  they  would  receive  it  with 
joy. 

"  As  to  what  the  girls  say  about  a  Spanish  lady,  assure 
them  that  though  I  am  really  a  man  in  stature  and  strength 
I  am  still  a  boy  at  heart,  and  am  no  more  affected  by  the 
pretty  graces  of  some  of  the  Spanish  girls  than  if  they  were 
dolls.  They  are  very  jolly  to  chaff  with,  but  certainly,  in  my 
case,  nothing  to  make  love  to.  I  hope  that  by  the  next  time 
I  write  I  shall  be  able  to  tell  you  I  have  got  my  company. 
With  love  to  you  all, 

"Yours  affectionately, 

"AKTHUR   HALLETT." 


88  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

CHAPTER  VI 

A  CAPTIVE 

HAVE  you  heard  that  Maltravers  is  missing,  Hallett  ? " 
Sinclair  asked  Arthur  one  morning  as  he  came  out 
of  his  quarters. 

"  Missing  ?    ISTo ;  how  is  he  missing  ? " 

"  That  is  what  nobody  seems  to  know.  He  was  on  duty 
last  night,  and  went  along  the  line  a  certain  distance,  and 
then  he  seems  to  have  disappeared.  An  enquiry  is  being 
made  among  the  men  on  duty,  but  so  far  there  does  not 
seem  to  be  any  explanation.  He  certainly  was  not  shot,  for 
there  are  no  signs  of  his  body.  One  idea  was  that  he  might 
have  been  taken  suddenly  ill,  and  turned  off  to  come  into  the 
'town  to  report  himself.  I  believe  a  search  is  being  made 
now  on  the  ground  that  he  would  cross,  to  see  if  he  has  fallen 
there.  Of  course  no  one  thinks  that  he  could  have  deserted." 

"  I  should  think  not,"  Arthur  said.  "  There  are  men  who 
grumble  so  continuously  that  one  would  hardly  be  surprised 
to  hear  that  they  had  taken  other  service,  but  that  was  not 
at  all  Maltravers'  way;  he  always  made  the  best  of  every- 
thing." 

"  Well,  it  is  very  strange." 

The  most  exhaustive  search  failed  to  bring  anything  to 
light  respecting  the  missing  officer.  The  sentry  at  the  last 
post  he  had  visited  had  observed  nothing  singular  in  his 
manner.  The  next  post  was  three  hundred  yards  away,  but, 
although  it  was  a  dark  night,  the  officer  could  not  have  missed 
his  way.  There  was  a  sharp  drop  in  the  ground  beyond  the 
line  that  he  would  traverse,  and  as  the  route  was  the  same 
that  had  been  used  for  many  months,  it  was  scarcely  possible 
that  anyone  could  miss  it.  The  idea  that  Carlists  could 
have  come  down  from  their  entrenchments,  the  nearest  of 
which  was  four  hundred  yards  away,  and  captured  him, 


A   CAPTIVE  89 

without  the  sound  of  a  struggle  reaching  the  ears  of  the 
sentries  to  the  right  or  left,  seemed  hardly  possible.  Some 
suggested  that  he  might  have  gone  suddenly  out  of  his  mind, 
and  wandered  down  into  the  town  or  to  the  bank  of  the 
Urumea,  and  there  fallen  in,  but  this  seemed  to  all  to  be 
wildly  improbable. 

The  officer's  letters  and  papers  were  examined,  but  noth- 
ing whatever  was  found  that  could  in  the  slightest  support 
the  idea  that  he  had  committed  suicide.  There  was  noth- 
ing to  do  but  to  enter  his  name  upon  the  list  of  missing, 
and  hope  that  he  would  yet  turn  up  some  day  and  explain 
the  mystery. 

"It  is  your  turn  for  the  night  duty,  Hallett,"  Sinclair 
said  to  him  three  days  after  the  strange  disappearance  of 
Maltravers. 

"  Yes,  I  know  that  my  turn  for  duty  begins  this  evening." 

"Well,  keep  a  sharp  look-out,  old  fellow;  we  don't  want 
any  more  mysterious  disappearances  in  the  regiment." 

"  No ;  one  is  more  than  sufficient ;  I  have  been  over  the 
ground  half  a  dozen  times  during  the  past  three  days  in  the 
hopes  of  finding  some  sort  of  clue,  but  without  the  least  suc- 
cess. Perhaps  as  I  go  round  to-night  some  bright  idea  may 
strike  me.  Of  one  thing,"  he  said  with  a  laugh,  "  you  may 
be  perfectly  sure :  that  is,  that  if  I  don't  turn  up  in  the  morn- 
ing it  will  be  neither  desertion,  suicide,  nor  insanity." 

"No,"  Sinclair  said;  "I  should  certainly  never  suspect 
you  of  any  one  of  the  three." 

The  others  laughed.  "  You  certainly  did  your  best  to  save 
your  life  on  board  that  boat,  so  we  will  put  suicide  out  of 
the  question.  As  to  desertion  and  lunacy,  I  think  they  may 
be  equally  barred.  If  you  are  missing,  I  shall  say  that  the 
pixies  have  carried  you  off." 

"  Yes ;  I  think  you  can  safely  put  it  down  to  that." 

After  mess  was  over,  Arthur  took  his  pistols  and  sword 
and  started  to  the  house  that  was  used  as  the  rendezvous  of 
the  officers  on  duty  for  the  night,  made  his  usual  visit  to  the 


90  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

outlying  posts  along  a  portion  of  the  line  some  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  in  extent,  and  returned.  A  few  minutes  before 
twelve  he  again  started  on  the  same  tramp,  his  companion 
on  duty  going  in  the  other  direction.  Nothing  unusual  hap- 
pened until  he  was  half-way  along;  then,  as  he  passed  a 
ruined  hut,  he  suddenly  fell,  stunned  by  a  heavy  blow  from 
behind.  He  knew  nothing  for  some  time,  then  he  felt  dimly 
conscious  that  he  was  being  carried  along.  Reviving  con- 
sciousness showed  him  that  there  were  two  men  at  his  arms 
and  two  at  his  legs,  and  that  a  cloak  or  some  other  woollen 
garment  was  wrapped  round  and  round  his  head,  and  some- 
thing thrust  into  his  mouth.  All  this  was  taken  in  little  by 
little,  for  his  head  buzzed  and  ached  from  the  blow  that  had 
fallen  upon  it. 

It  was  some  time  before  his  brain  began  to  work  in  earnest. 
Then  he  gradually  came  to  understand  that  he  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  Carlists.  These  four  men  must  have  stolen 
quietly  down  from  their  entrenchments  and  hidden  among 
the  ruins  of  the  hut,  struck  him  to  the  ground,  probably 
with  the  butt-end  of  a  musket,  and  were  now  carrying  him 
off.  Doubtless,  this  was  the  manner  in  which  Maltravers 
had  also  been  captured.  He  knew  that  to  struggle  would  be 
absolutely  useless;  and  indeed,  from  a  murmur  of  talk  that 
went  on  around  him,  he  judged  that  he  was  already  in  the 
Carlist  lines.  He  could  feel  that  he  was  being  taken  up  the 
hill.  After  what  seemed  a  very  long  time,  his  bearers  came 
to  a  stop.  A  door  was  pushed  open,  and  he  was  carried 
through  and  dropped  on  the  ground.  Then  he  heard  the  door 
close  and  the  lock  turn.  He  sat  up,  and  took  the  muffler 
from  his  head  and  the  gag  from  his  mouth.  His  head  ached 
as  if  it  would  split,  so,  knowing  that  there  was  nothing  to  be 
done,  he  rolled  up  the  muffler  and,  using  it  as  a  pillow,  dozed 
off  after  a  time  into  a  heavy  sleep.  When  he  awoke,  he  heard 
talking  outside. 

"  This  is  the  second  five  dollars  each  we  have  made,  Pedro ; 
if  we  go  on  like  this  we  shall  soon  get  rich." 


A   CAPTIVE  91 

"  I  don't  see  why  we  shouldn't,"  the  other  said.  "  As  long 
as  the  nights  are  dark,  we  can  always  be  sure  of  making  our 
way  down  unobserved.  We  may  reckon  on  snatching  two 
or  three  more  before  there  is  a  moon,  and  even  then  we  shall 
be  able  to  do  it  when  there  is  rain." 

"  I  don't  suppose  we  can  catch  many  more  that  way,"  the 
other  said.  "  When  they  find  officers  keep  on  disappearing 
they  will  send  three  or  four  of  the  men  round  with  them, 
and  then,  of  course,  there  will  be  an  end  of  the  business. 
Still,  if  we  can  catch  half  a  dozen  more  we  shall  not  have 
done  so  badly." 

As  soon  as  day  broke,  Arthur  sat  up  and  looked  round. 
He  had  still  a  splitting  headache,  and  there  was  a  lump  as 
big  as  an  egg  where  the  blow  had  fallen.  His  cap  lay  upon 
the  ground  near  him,  having  apparently  been  thrown  in  there 
by  the  men  who  had  carried  him  up.  His  arms  had  been 
taken  away,  and  he  had  no  doubt  that  nothing  had  been  left 
behind  that  would  leave  any  indication  as  to  what  had  be- 
fallen him.  The  hut,  which  was  about  twelve  feet  square, 
had  evidently  been  inhabited  by  a  peasant.  It  contained 
two  or  three  broken  pieces  of  rough  furniture,  and  the  floor 
was  littered  with  odds  and  ends  of  old  garments,  broken 
crockery,  &c.  Two  little  loop-holes,  about  six  inches  square, 
admitted  a  certain  amount  of  light  when  the  door  was  closed. 
Looking  out  of  these,  he  saw  that  the  hut  stood  on  level 
ground,  evidently  at  the  top  of  the  hill.  Numbers  of  Car- 
lists  lay  on  the  ground  wrapped  up  in  their  cloaks. 

Two  or  three  small  huts  and  houses  were  dotted  here  and 
there  on  the  plain,  the  nearest  of  them  being  about  two 
hundred  yards  away.  This  one  had  a  garden  round  it,  and 
looked  as  if  it  was  still  inhabited.  Like  the  hut  in  which 
he  was  confined,  it  was  built  of  stone,  and  was  roofed  with 
slabs  of  the  same  material,  but  was  larger  and  apparently 
had  an  upper  story  or  loft. 

Having  seen  this  much,  he  sat  down  until,  by  the  stir 
around,  he  knew  that  the  camp  was  awake.  It  was  not  until. 


92  WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION 

as  near  as  he  could  guess,  nine  o'clock — for  his  watch  had 
been  taken  away  from  him — that  anyone  came  near  him, 
though  he  knew  by  the  talking  that  there  were  two  sentries 
at  the  door.  Then  he  heard  the  key  turn  in  the  lock,  and 
an  officer,  who  by  his  uniform,  he  thought,  was  a  colonel, 
entered.  Arthur  rose  to  his  feet. 

"You  are  English,  sir?"  the  colonel  said. 

"I  am." 

"Why  do  you  fight  on  the  side  of  the  Christinos?  We 
know  that  you  are  badly  treated  by  them:  you  are  half- 
starved  and  you  get  no  pay.  Well,  sir,  you  are  a  prisoner  in 
our  hands;  and  I  need  hardly  say  what  your  fate  will  be  if 
you  do  not  accept  our  terms.  If  you  will  enter  the  service 
of  Don  Carlos,  you  will  be  well-fed,  well-paid,  and  welcomed 
as  a  comrade.  It  can  make  no  difference  to  you  on  which 
side  you  fight — Christine  or  Carlist.  You  have  learned  what 
to  expect  from  them,  neglect  and  suffering ;  with  us  you  will 
have  neither.  We  are  certain  to  win  in  the  long  run.  You 
will  get  promotion  and  honour — the  alternative  is  death! 
I  will  leave  you  till  this  evening  to  think  over  the 
matter." 

He  went  out,  and  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  two  soldiers 
entered  bearing  a  dish  of  meat  and  beans,  and  a  large  jug 
of  water.  Arthur  had  no  appetite;  but  he  took  a  copious 
drink,  poured  some  water  over  his  cloak,  which  he  rolled  up 
as  a  pillow,  and  lay  down  on  his  back,  with  his  head  upon  it. 
Its  coolness  eased  the  throbbing  of  his  wound.  As  he  lay 
he  thought  over  his  position.  "  The  case  is  a  very  bad  one," 
>T  he  said  to  himself.  "  Certainly  I  am  not  going  to  turn 
traitor;  that  needn't  be  thought  of.  I  have  no  doubt  that 
the  threat  of  shooting  me,  if  I  refuse,  will  be  carried  into 
execution.  The  question  is,  whether  it  will  be  carried  out 
at  once  on  my  refusal,  or  put  off  till  to-morrow  morning. 
Surely  they  will  give  me  another  twelve  hours.  If  they 
don't,  there  is  an  end  of  it.  There  is  no  possibility  whatever 
of  escaping  in  the  daylight ;  I  don't  know  that  there  is  much 


A   CAPTIVE  93 

chance  at  night,  but  there  may  be  a  chance.  At  any  rate, 
I  have  all  day  to  think  it  over." 

He  lay  there  for  some  hours,  sitting  up  occasionally  to 
pour  more  water  upon  his  pillow.  The  throbbing  of  his 
head  subsided  somewhat,  and  at  one  o'clock  he  sat  up  and 
forced  himself  to  eat.  "  Escape  or  no  escape,"  he  said,  "  I 
must  keep  up  my  strength."  When  he  had  finished  his  meal 
he  stood  up.  His  head  still  throbbed,  though  the  pain  was 
much  less  acute.  First  he  went  to  the  door  and  examined 
it :  the  hinges  were  strong  and  rough,  the  lock  was  sunk  in 
the  woodwork;  it  was  evident  that  it  could  not  be  forced. 

"  Now,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  I  have  the  option  of  trying 
to  get  the  screws  out  of  the  hinges  or  cutting  round  the 
lock."  He  ielt  in  his  pocket  for  his  knife,  and  gave  an  ex- 
clamation of  disappointment  when  he  found  that  it  was  gone. 
This  was  a  bitter  blow.  He  spent  some  time  looking  about 
the  floor  in  the  hopes  of  finding  some  piece  of  iron  which  he 
could  use  for  getting  out  the  screws,  but  although  he  searched 
the  place  most  carefully,  he  could  find  nothing  that  would 
serve  his  purpose. 

The  walls  of  the*  hut  were  far  too  solid  to  admit  of  his 
making  a  way  through  them.  It  might,  he  thought,  be  just 
possible  to  burrow  under  them ;  but  he  quickly  dismissed  this 
idea,  for  there  was  no  great  depth  of  soil  on  the  rock,  and 
it  was  almost  certain  that  the  foundations  of  the  wall  would 
be  carried  down  to  it.  He  went  to  one  of  the  little  windows, 
and  stood  there  gazing  out  vaguely.  Presently  he  saw  an 
old  woman  come  out  of  the  nearest  house,  cut  some  vege- 
tables, and  go  in  again.  He  wondered  what  they  were,  and 
what  she  was  going  to  have  for  dinner,  hardly  knowing  what 
current  his  thoughts  were  taking.  As  he  roused  himself  and 
looked  round  a  fresh  idea  struck  him.  The  walls  could  not 
be  attacked,  the  door  would  defy  any  efforts  that  he  could 
make,  the  floor  was  altogether  unpromising — but  there  was 
the  roofl  A  new  hope  sprung  up  in  his  breast  as  he 
looked  up. 


94:  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION" 

The  roof  was  simply  composed  of  slabs  of  stone,  and  al- 
though these  had  been  roughly  plastered,  the  lines  where  one 
had  been  laid  on  another  showed  clearly.  The  slabs  were 
from  an  inch  to  an  inch  and  a  half  thick,  and  about  two  feet 
square.  The  walls  of  the  cabin  were  about  eight  feet  high, 
and  Arthur  could  just  touch  the  lowest  range  of  slabs  with 
the  tips  of  his  fingers ;  but  he  saw  at  once  that  the  materials 
within  the  hut  would  enable  him  to  reach  it  easily.  There 
was  a  rough  stool  some  two  feet  high;  one  of  its  legs  was 
gone,  but  by  propping  it  against  the  wall  it  would  stand. 
He  placed  it  there  and  mounted  upon  it.  It  was  a  bit  shaky, 
but  it  held  his  weight.  The  top  of  his  head  was  now  but 
a  few  inches  below  the  slab,  and  he  had  no  doubt  whatever 
but  that  he  could  raise  it.  The  two  sentries,  as  far  as  he 
could  tell,  were  both  in  front  of  the  cabin,  and  considering 
its  structure  it  was  very  improbable  that  there  was  one  be- 
hind. Thus,  then,  if  they  gave  him  until  the  next  morning 
he  could  well  hope  to  make  his  escape. 

He  was  so  delighted  at  this  that  he  hardly  felt  any  longer 
the  pain  in  his  head.  It  would  of  course  be  no  very  easy 
matter  to  make  his  way  down  through  the  Carlist  lines;  but 
as  he  had  done  it  before,  he  might  well  hope  to  do  it  again. 
"  At  any  rate,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  nothing  can  be  done  till 
night,  and  I  may  as  well  sleep  till  then." 

He  laid  himself  down  again,  this  time  going  to  sleep  so 
soundly  that  he  did  not  hear  the  guards  come  in  and  put 
some  more  food  down.  About  six  o'clock  he  awoke,  and  at 
once  took  another  meal.  Half  an  hour  later  the  colonel 
again  came  in. 

"  Well,  sir,  what  is  your  answer  ? "  he  said. 

"  I  do  not  like  to  turn  traitor,"  he  said.  "  Certainly  I 
have  no  reason  to  be  very  grateful  to  the  Christines,  and  if 
the  offer  were  that  I  should  resign  the  service  I  should  cer- 
tainly accept  it;  but  I  do  not  like  to  fight  against  my  old 
comrades." 

"  You  would  not  be  called  upon  to  do  so,"  the  colonel  said; 


A  CAPTIVE  95 

"you  would  be  attached  to  one  of  our  other  armies.  We 
have  had  a  good  many  deserters  from  your  lines,  but  we  can- 
not utilize  them  because  they  understand  so  little  Spanish 
and  no  Basque.  We  want  an  officer  to  lead  them.  There 
are  plenty  to  make  a  strong  company,  and  I  will  promise 
you  that  you  shall  have  their  command  and  shall  not  be 
employed  here." 

"  Give  me  till  to-morrow  to  think  it  over,  sir.  You  have 
already  taken  one  of  our  officers,  may  I  ask  what  reply  he 
gave?" 

"  The  obstinate  fool  chose  death,"  the  officer  said.  "  I  was 
sorry;  but,  of  course,  it  had  to  be  done.  I  trust  that  you 
will  not  be  so  foolish.  At  any  rate,  I  will  give  you  till  to- 
morrow morning;  but  unless  you  are  by  that  time  prepared 
to  accept  my  offer,  your  fate  will  be  the  same  as  his." 

So  saying,  he  left  the  hut.  Thankful  for  the  respite,  Ar- 
thur went  to  one  of  the  little  windows  and  looked  out.  Num- 
bers of  fires  were  burning,  and  the  Carlist  soldiers  were 
gathered  round  them,  some  cooking  their  food,  others  smok- 
ing and  talking.  The  hours  passed  slowly.  Arthur  waited  to 
choose  a  time  when  the  camp  was  growing  quiet,  but  when 
there  were  still  some  sounds  that  might  deaden  any  noise 
he  might  make.  At  last  the  moment  arrived  when  he  thought 
he  could  attempt  to  get  the  stone  off,  though  he  did  not  in- 
tend to  try  to  escape  till  all  were  asleep.  He  placed  the  stool 
against  the  wall  again,  and  climbed  up,  and  then  pushed 
with  all  his  strength  under  one  of  the  slabs.  It  gave  a  little. 
He  tried  again,  and  it  yielded.  Working  very  carefully,  he 
got  the  upper  end  out  from  underneath  the  slab  above  it, 
then  raised  it,  turned  it  sideways,  and  lowered  it  into  the 
hut. 

The  talk  of  the  guards  outside  went  on  uninterruptedly, 
and  it  was  evident  that  no  sound  had  reached  their  ears. 
Arthur  sat  down  and  waited.  Hitherto  he  had  felt  no  ner- 
vousness, but  his  anxiety  now  became  intense.  One  of  the 
guards  might  enter  the  place.  There  were  no  special  grounds 


96  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

for  fear  that  this  would  happen,  as  hitherto  the  sentries  had 
only  opened  the  door  to  bring  in  his  meals ;  still,  they  might 
do  so.  Again,  a  soldier  who  had  been  chatting  with  his  com- 
rades at  one  fire  might  move  off  to  sleep  at  another,  and 
notice  the  hole  caused  by  the  removal  of  the  slab.  This  was 
certainly  very  improbable  en  so  dark  a  night;  still,  the 
thought  of  the  possibility  of  one  or  other  of  the  two  events 
taking  place  kept  Arthur's  nerves  on  a  strain. 

At  last  everything  seemed  quiet.  The  night  was  perfectly 
still,  save  that  he  could  hear  an  occasional  sound  of  talking 
and  laughter  in  the  trenches  lower  down  the  hill,  where 
doubtless  a  considerable  number  of  the  Carlists  would  re- 
main on  watch.  At  last  he  felt  that  the  moment  had  come 
for  making  the  attempt.  He  again  leant  the  stool  against 
the  wall,  put  his  hands  on  the  edges  of  the  two  slabs  by  the 
side  of  the  hole,  and  pulled  himself  up.  Very  noiselessly  he 
raised  himself  higher  and  higher  till  he  could  get  his  legs 
over  the  wall;  then  he  turned,  lowered  himself  by  his  arms, 
and  dropped.  As  he  did  so  he  rolled  over,  and  with  difficulty 
refrained  from  uttering  a  groan.  Instead  of  dropping,  as 
he  had  expected,  on  even  ground,  one  of  his  feet  had  come 
on  a  rough  stone  lying  against  the  wall,  and  in  the  fall  he 
had  badly  wrenched  his  ankle. 

He  did  not  attempt  to  move  for  a  time.  The  chance  of 
passing  down  through  the  Carlist  lines  was  at  an  end.  For 
fully  ten  minutes  he  lay  there;  then  his  mind  was  made 
up,  and  turning  over  on  to  his  face,  he  began  to  drag  him- 
self along  towards  the  house  he  had  been  looking  at  during 
the  day.  It  was  his  only  chance.  If  he  could  conceal  him- 
self there  he  might  be  safe.  When  his  escape  was  discovered 
in  the  morning  it  would  be  supposed  that  he  had  made  his 
way  down  through  the  lines,  or  had  gone  out  through  the 
rear  of  the  camp  and  taken  to  the  mountains  until  he  could 
work  his  way  back  to  the  town.  There  would  certainly  be 
no  search  for  him  close  to  his  prison. 

It  took  him  nearly  half  an  hour  at  that  slow  rate  of  pro- 


A   CAPTIVE  97 

gression  to  make  his  way  to  the  house.  When  he  reached  it, 
he  raised  himself  on  to  his  sound  foot,  noiselessly  lifted  the 
latch,  and  went  in.  He  closed  the  door  behind  him,  and  sat 
down  against  it.  Knowing  nothing  of  the  interior  arrange- 
ments, he  dared  not  move  for  fear  of  waking  the  inmates. 
He  therefore  remained  there  motionless,  dozing  occasionally, 
until  the  first  dawn  of  day  enabled  him  to  obtain  an  idea  of 
his  surroundings.  The  room  in  which  he  was  was  unoccu- 
pied, but  an  open  door  at  the  back  showed  where  the  old 
woman  and  whoever  might  live  with  her  were  sleeping.  A 
rough  ladder  in  the  opposite  corner  of  the  room  led  up  to 
an  open  trap-door  leading  evidently  to  a  loft.  This  was 
what  he  had  hoped  for,  and  making  his  way  across  to  it  he 
pulled  himself  up  the  ladder,  and  found,  as  he  expected,  that 
he  was  in  a  low  loft.  It  was  half  filled  with  hay  and  fag- 
gots, and  climbing  over  these  he  laid  himself  down  behind 
them  and  lay  listening. 

In  an  hour  he  heard  cries  of  alarm,  followed  by  a  great 
hubbub  in  the  camp,  and  had  no  doubt  that  his  escape  had 
been  discovered.  Presently  he  heard  a  stir  below,  and,  listen- 
ing, made  out  two  voices — one,  which  was,  he  had  no  doubt, 
that  of  the  old  woman  whom  he  had  seen,  and  the  other  ap- 
parently that  of  an  old  man,  probably  her  husband.  He  had 
taken  a  long  draught  of  water  the  last  thing  before  leaving 
the  hut,  and  had  put  the  remains  of  the  food  in  his  pocket. 
He  now  bandaged  his  ankle  as  well  as  he  could,  and  then  slept 
the  greater  part  of  the  day.  Beyond  the  quiet  voices  below 
he  heard  nothing,  which  showed  that  no  suspicion  existed 
that  he  was  hidden  so  close.  He  was  troubled  only  by  the 
heat  during  the  day,  but  suffered  a  good  deal  from  this. 

At  daybreak  the  next  morning  he  made  his  way  to  the 
trap-door  and  looked  down.  On  the  table  a  large  jug  of 
water  and  half  a  loaf  were  standing.  He  crawled  down  the 
ladder,  took  them  both,  and  returned  to  his  hiding-place. 
An  hour  later  he  heard  angry  talk  below.  He  did  not  under- 
stand Basque,  one  of  the  most  difficult  languages  to  acquire, 


98  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

but  he  guessed  that  the  owners  were  railing  over  the  loss  of 
the  jug  and  bread,  and  doubtless  putting  it  down  to  some 
soldier  who  had  entered  after  they  had  gone  to  sleep  and 
stolen  them.  The  loss  could  not  have  been  a  heavy  one,  but 
the  old  couple  did  not  get  over  it  all  day,  but  continued  to 
grumble  at  intervals.  To  him  the  proceeds  of  his  theft  were 
invaluable.  He  was  able  to  keep  the  bandage  round  his 
ankle  bathed  with  cold  water,  and  he  calculated  that  the 
bread  would,  with  care,  last  him  three  days,  and  that  the 
water  would  hold  out  as  long. 

This  proved  to  be  the  case.  The  old  man  came  up  once 
during  that  time  with  a  large  bowl,  which  he  filled  out  of 
a  sack  containing  lentils;  otherwise,  Arthur  was  altogether 
undisturbed.  At  the  end  of  that  time  the  pain  in  his  ankle 
had  abated,  but  he  could  feel  that  it  was  still  very  weak,  and 
that  he  dared  not  yet  attempt  to  walk  on  it. 

That  night  he  went  down  and  refilled  his  jug  from  a  pail, 
and  carried  off  a  loaf  of  bread  from  a  cupboard.  After  pos- 
sessing himself  of  these  things,  he  very  carefully  drew  back 
a  bolt  of  the  door.  When  the  old  couple  awoke  he  heard 
them  engaged  in  a  furious  quarrel.  They  had  missed  the 
bread,  and  finding  the  door  unbolted,  the  old  woman  had 
charged  her  husband  with  neglecting  to  fasten  it,  while  he 
was  stoutly  maintaining  that  he  had  done  so,  and  that  she 
saw  him  do  it.  The  quarrel  lasted  with  more  or  less  acer- 
bity the  whole  day.  Had  Arthur  possessed  any  money  he 
would  have  placed  a  copper  coin  or  two  on  the  table  to  pay 
j  for  the  bread  he  had  taken ;  but  both  pockets  had  been  turned 
*  (inside  out  by  his  captors,  and  he  was  absolutely  penniless. 

The  loaf  lasted  for  four  days,  and  when  it  was  finished  he 
determined  that,  although  his  ankle  was  still  very  weak,  he 
would  attempt  to  get  away.  He  was  very  reluctant  to  again 
help  himself  from  the  old  people's  store.  It  might  be  at 
least  three  days  before  he  could  enter  the  town,  although  he 
hoped  to  be  able  to  accomplish  it  in  one.  Still,  if  his  foot 
should  give  him  trouble  he  might  have  to  lie  up  in  shelter. 


A   CAPTIVE  99 

However,  he  contented  himself  with  only  taking  half  a  loaf, 
and  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  when  everything  was  quiet,  he 
opened  the  door  and  went  cautiously  out.  His  object  was  to 
get  down  to  the  Urumea,  which  was  but  a  mile  and  a  half 
off,  so,  going  back  from  the  brow  of  the  hill,  to  avoid  falling 
in  with  any  sleeping  Carlists,  he  started. 

He  had  gone  but  a  short  way  when  he  felt  his  foot  begin- 
ning to  pain  him  badly.  At  first  he  tried  hopping,  but  he 
found  that  the  jar  of  each  jump  hurt  him  as  much  as  if  he 
were  using  the  foot,  and  as  he  had  no  knife  he  could  not  cut 
himself  a  stick.  He  therefore  sat  down,  and  swung  himself 
along  on  his  hands.  This  was  a  slow  method  of  progression, 
and  he  had  to  stop  frequently  to  rest  his  arms  and  wrists. 
He  soon  gave  up  all  idea  of  being  able,  as  he  had  hoped, 
to  reach  the  river  and  to  swim  down  past  the  Carlist  lines 
before  morning.  He  kept  on,  however,  till  the  dawn  had 
begun  to  break.  By  this  time  he  could  not  be  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  river.  Crawling  into  a  thick 
clump  of  bushes  he  lay  down,  and  being  thoroughly  tired  out 
with  his  exertions  he  slept  till  mid-day.  When  he  awoke 
he  ate  a  large  hunch  of  bread,  and  then  waited  until  it  be- 
came dark  enough  for  him  to  make  another  move.  As  soon 
as  night  fell  he  set  off.  It  took  him  nearly  an  hour  to  cross 
the  quarter-mile  of  broken  ground ;  but  at  length,  to  his  sat- 
isfaction, the  bushes  ceased  and  he  saw  the  river  twenty 
yards  in  front  of  him. 

He  had,  soon  after  starting  from  the  cottage,  taken  the 
boot  off  his  injured  foot  and  tied  it  to  his  waist.  He  now 
took  off  the  other  and  fastened  it  by  its  fellow;  then  he 
stepped  into  the  river,  and  found  to  his  satisfaction  that  the 
tide  was  running  out.  Had  it  not  been  so,  he  must  have  sat 
down  and  waited  until  the  ebb  began.  After  wading  for 
some  little  distance,  he  struck  out  for  the  centre  of  the  river; 
then  he  turned  on  his  back  and  let  himself  drift,  turning 
occasionally  on  to  his  breast  and  striking  out  carefully  for 
a  time,  so  as  to  get  a  change  of  position.  Luckily  the  water 


100  WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION 

was  quite  warm.  Presently  he  heard  the  sound  of  talking, 
and  perceived  a  glow  of  light  on  the  stream.  He  swam 
across  close  to  the  other  shore,  and  saw,  as  he  floated  down, 
the  fires  of  the  Carlists  stretching  in  zig-zag  lines  along  their 
entrenchments,  rising  one  above  another. 

He  was  confident  that,  plainly  as  he  could  see  everything 
there,  the  sharpest  eye  could  not  discover  him  so  far  beyond 
the  circle  of  light.  Still,  he  did  not  attempt  to  swim  until 
he  was  well  beyond  the  fires ;  then  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  he 
knew  that  he  must  be  within  the  lines  of  the  Legion.  He 
thought,  however,  that  it  would  save  trouble  if  he  were  to 
land  abreast  of  the  town,  so  he  swam  on  until  he  reached  the 
bridge  that  had  been  thrown  across  the  river.  Then  he  went 
ashore,  having  been  about  two  hours  in  the  water.  The 
water  appeared  to  have  benefited  his  ankle,  for  he  found  that 
he  could  now  limp  along  slowly.  Making  his  way  to  his 
quarters  he  went  quietly  up  to  his  room  and  opened  his 
door.  A  candle  was  burning  there,  and  Roper  was  sitting  at 
the  table  with  his  head  in  his  hands.  He  looked  up  as  Arthur 
entered,  and  then  sprang  to  his  feet  with  a  shout  of  joy. 

"  Thank  God,  you  are  back !  Thank  God !  I  have  never 
quite  given  you  up,  sir,  although  everyone  else  has.  Every 
evening  when  I  have  been  off  duty  I  have  come  and  sat  here, 
as  I  knew  that  when  you  came  back  it  would  be  after  dark." 

"  I  am  glad  indeed  to  see  you,  Roper !  I  have  had  a  very 
narrow  squeak  this  time — I  never  want  to  have  as  narrow.  I 
will  tell  you  all  about  it  presently." 

"Your  clothes  are  all  wet,  sir." 

"Yes.  I  must  change  them  at  once.  When  I  have  done 
that,  you  must  go  up  to  the  colonel  and  report  my  return. 
I  sprained  one  of  my  ankles,  and  can  only  just  hobble  along, 
and  I  don't  want  to  put  any  more  strain  on  it  than  I  can 
help ;  so  when  I  am  undressed  I  will  turn  in.  By  the  way,  I 
think  before  you  go  off  you  might  cook  me  something,  if 
there  is  anything  to  be  had." 

"  There  is  nothing  here,  sir." 


A   CAPTIVE  101 

"While  I  am  undressing,  you  might  run  out  and  buy 
me  something;  cold  meat  of  any  sort  will  do.  I  have  had 
nothing  but  bread  since  I  went  away,  and  not  much  of 
that." 

Arthur  was  in  bed  by  the  time  Roper  returned. 

"  I  have  got  some  cold  meat,  bread,  and  a  bottle  of  wine, 
sir." 

"  Thank  you,  Roper.  Put  them  on  that  table  and  draw  it 
to  the  side  of  the  bed.  When  you  have  done  that,  please  go 
and  report  my  return,  and  explain  why  I  can't  come  and  do 
it  myself." 

He  had  scarcely  finished  the  meal  when  the  colonel  came  in. 

"  Welcome  back  a  thousand  times,  Hallett !  We  have  all 
been  in  a  terrible  way  about  you.  I  hoped  for  the  first  two 
or  three  days,  and  insisted  that  whatever  had  happened  to 
you,  you  would  get  out  of  it,  if  there  was  but  the  remotest 
possibility  of  escape.  Now,  let  us  know  all  about  it.  I  sup- 
posed you  were  carried  off,  as  Maltravers  was.  How  it  hap- 
pened we  could  not  find  out,  but  since  that  time  every  officer 
has  made  his  rounds  with  four  men  with  him,  and  as  a  con- 
sequence we  have  had  no  more  disappearances.  Now,  please 
tell  me  all  about  it." 

Arthur  told  the  story  at  length. 

"  By  Jove,  you  have  done  wonderfully  well ! "  the  colonel 
•  said.  "  It  has  been  one  of  the  narrowest  touches  I  ever  heard 
of;  and  if  you  hadn't  sprained  your  foot  you  would  have 
been  back  among  us  within  twenty-four  hours  of  your 
capture.  It  was  lucky,  indeed,  that  you  had  particularly 
noticed  that  cottage  and  its  occupants  during  the  day,  and 
that  the  thought  struck  you  to  shelter  in  it.  Well,  I  won't 
say  anything  more  now;  it  is  ten  o'clock,  and  I  am  sure  you 
must  want  a  good  night's  sleep." 

"I  shall  be  glad,  sir,  if,  the  first  thing  in  the  morning, 
you  will  send  the  surgeon  round  to  me.  My  ankle  is  not 
nearly  as  swollen  as  it  was,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  the 
few  hours  I  spent  in  the  water  did  me  a  lot  of  good.  At 


102  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

the  same  time,  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  have  it  bandaged,  and 
don't  want  to  be  kept  in  bed  by  it.  Of  course,  I  shall  be 
able  to  ride,  but  that  would  be  no  good  for  my  company 
work." 

"  You  must  leave  your  company  work  alone  for  a  week  or 
so.  I  shall  be  glad,  if  you  find  that  you  can  ride,  if  you  will 
come  round  to  my  quarters  at  ten  o'clock,  and  I  will  take  you 
to  the  general." 

The  next  morning  Arthur  lay  in  bed  until  the  surgeon 
came.  While  the  latter  was  bandaging  his  ankle,  he  had  to 
give  him  a  short  account  of  his  adventure. 

"  Well,  you  got  through  it  well,"  the  surgeon  said,  "  but 
I  should  not  advise  you  to  try  that  sort  of  thing  again; 
you  may  not  be  so  lucky  next  time.  You  have  given  your 
ankle  a  very  awkward  wrench.  I  should  advise  you  to  avoid 
any  attempt  to  walk  for  at  least  a  week  or  ten  days.  If 
you  do,  you  may  have  to  lie  up  for  six  weeks." 

Roper  came  in  to  help  Arthur  to  dress,  and  to  ma£e  his 
breakfast  for  him.  Arthur's  servant  had  been  killed  in  the 
last  fight,  and  since  that  time  Roper  had,  whenever  he  was 
off  duty,  installed  himself  in  his  place.  After  breakfast  he 
brought  Arthur's  horse  round,  and  the  latter  mounted  and 
rode  to  the  colonel's  quarters.  That  officer's  horse  was  at 
the  door,  and  he  came  out  at  once  before  Arthur  had  dis- 
mounted. 

"  Don't  get  off,  Hallett,"  he  said.  "  Dr.  Spendlow  has  been 
round  here  since  he  left  you,  and  said  that  you  must  on  no 
account  use  your  leg  for  another  ten  days.  He  said  that  if 
you  would  obey  his  orders  you  might  be  fit  for  duty  in  a 
fortnight,  while  if  you  did  not  do  so,  you  might  be  laid  up 
for  a  long  time." 

They  rode  to  the  general's  quarters,  which  were  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  away. 

"  You  must  walk  in  here,"  the  colonel  said ;  "  but  lean  on 
my  arm,  and  I  will  take  the  weight  off  that  foot." 

On  the  colonel  sending  in  his  name  he  was  at  once  ad- 


A   CAPTIVE  103 

mitted.     "  General,"  he  said,  "  we  are  stronger  by  one  officer 
than  I  thought  we  were.     Mr.  Hallett  has  returned." 

"I  am  indeed  glad  to  hear  it,"  the  general  said  warmly, 
and  coming  up  he  shook  Arthur  heartily  by  the  hand. 

"  He  must  sit  down,  sir,"  the  colonel  said ;  "  at  present  he 
has  only  one  available  leg." 

"Now,  Mr.  Hallett,"  the  general  said,  when  Arthur  was 
comfortably  seated,  "please  give  me  a  full  account  of  what 
has  happened;  it  may  throw  light  not  only  upon  your  dis- 
appearance, but  on  that  of  Captain  Maltravers.  Before  you 
begin  your  story,  I  should  like  to  ask  whether  you  have 
seen  or  heard  anything  of  him  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  I  did  not  see  him,  for 
he  was  murdered  by  the  Carlists.  The  choice  was  given  him 
to  desert  to  their  side  or  to  be  killed,  and  he  nobly  chose  the 
latter  alternative." 

"I  am  sorry  indeed,"  the  general  said.  "He  was  a  fine 
young  fellow,  and  he  died  a  hero's  death.  What  a  terrible 
war  this  is — a  war  to  the  knife!  Indeed,  it  seems  to  me 
more  cruel  and  pitiless  every  month,  in  spite  of  the  efforts/ 
Colonel  Wylde,  the  British  commissioner,  is  making  to  per- 
suade both  parties  to  desist  from  these  atrocities.  I  am 
afraid  that  one  side  is  almost  as  bad  as  the  other.  Both 
declare  that  they  commit  these  murders  by  way  of  reprisals, 
and  I  am  bound  to  say  that  in  the  early  stages  of  the  war 
the  Christines  were  nearly  as  bad,  if  not  as  bad,  as  the  Car- 
lists.  Since  then,  however,  they  have  been  somewhat  better,! 
and  have  really  tried,  I  think,  to  keep  the  Convention,  to  re- 
spect the  rules  of  war  and  to  spare  prisoners.  They  have,  it 
is  true,  shot  a  great  many,  but  it  has  been  by  way  of  reprisals 
for  the  brutality  of  the  Carlists,  and  especially  of  those  of 
Cabrera,  who  has  several  times  shot  women  as  well  as  men. 

"  And  now  for  your  story,  Mr.  Hallett." 

Arthur  again  told  his  story  at  length. 

"I  compliment  you  highly  on  your  quick-wittedness,  Mr. 
Hallett;  it  certainly  saved  your  life.  And  in  such  a  cell  as 


104  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

you  describe,  with  two  armed  guards  at  the  door,  it  is  not 
one  man  in  fifty  who  would  have  thought  of  escaping  through 
/the  roof.  Not  less  sharp  was  it  to  take  at  once,  crippled  as 
you  were,  to  the  only  place  that  offered  you  shelter.  Alto- 
gether, it  was  a  remarkably  well-planned  and  well-carried-out 
affair;  and  be  assured  that  if  any  opportunity  should  occur, 
I  shall  take  advantage  of  it  to  utilize  your  services.  Now, 
I  hope  you  will  obey  the  doctor's  orders  and  go  back  to  your 
quarters,  and  stay  there  till  your  ankle  is  quite  well." 

This  Arthur  did;  and  for  the  next  three  or  four  days 
held  a  sort  of  levee  in  his  quarters,  almost  all  the  officers 
of  the  Legion  coming  in  to  see  him  and  to  hear  his  story, 
which  he  became  perfectly  tired  of  telling  long  before  the 
visits  were  over.  His  companions  in  the  adventures  in  the 
boat  were  especially  pleased  to  see  him,  and  came  in  every 
day  to  have  a  chat  with  him. 

|  "You  seem  fated  to  get  into  adventures,  Hallett,"  Sin- 
clair said,  when  he  first  heard  the  story.  "You  get  nearly 
caught  as  a  spy,  and  manage  to  make  your  way  through  the 
enemy's  lines  with  a  lot  of  valuable  information;  you  get 
blown  out  to  sea,  and  you  save  us  and  yourself ;  and  now  you 
get  carried  off,  and  threatened  with  death  in  twenty-four 
hours,  but  make  your  escape  and  rejoin.  My  dear  fellow,  I 
am  afraid  you  will  at  last  come  to  a  bad  end.  It  is  evident 
1  that  neither  water  nor  bullet  has  power  over  you,  and  that 
your  exit  from  this  world  will  be  hastened  by  a  collar  of 
hemp." 

"I  hope  not,  Sinclair;  I  shall  do  my  best  to  avoid  it. 
Hanging  seems  to  be  an  uncomfortable  sort  of  death,  to  say 
nothing  of  its  being  strictly  unfashionable." 

"Well,  we  shall  see,"  Sinclair  said;  "but  I  cannot  help 
thinking  that  that  is  what  will  happen  to  you.  Now,  what 
is  your  next  adventure  going  to  be  ? " 

Arthur  laughed.  "I  must  leave  that  to  fate.  Two  out 
of  my  three  adventures  were  certainly  not  brought  on  by 
myself.  I  was  blown  out  to  sea  owing  to  your  obstinacy  in 


A   GREAT  CHANGE  105 

refusing  to  turn  back  when  I  wanted  to.  I  was  certainly 
carried  off  this  time  by  no  will  of  my  own.  So  that  only 
what  you  call  the  spy  business  was  of  my  own  choosing.  I 
can  assure  you  that  I  have  had  enough  of  adventures,  and 
shall  not  get  into  another  if  I  can  manage  to  avoid  it." 

Ten  days  later  Arthur  was  reported  fit  for  duty,  and  was 
v»ry  glad  to  resume  his  regular  work. 


CHAPTER    VII 

A  GREAT  CHANGE 

ONE  day  Colonel  Godfrey  sent  for  Arthur.  "General 
Evans  is  going  to  send  Major  Hawkins  to  Madrid,  and 
has  asked  me  to  recommend  a  young  officer  to  accompany 
him  as  his  assistant.  I  have  mentioned  your  name  to  him, 
as  you  speak  Spanish  fluently,  which  very  few  other  officers 
can  do.  He  will  probably  remain  there  for  some  time,  and 
will  act  as  the  accredited  representative  of  the  Legion.  I 
know  that  I  have  undertaken  a  certain  amount  of  responsi- 
bility in  recommending  so  young  an  officer;  but  from  what 
I  have  seen  of  you,  and  from  the  distinguished  service  you 
rendered  by  going  into  the  Carlist  camp  and  obtaining  in- 
formation concerning  it,  I  feel  convinced  that  you  will  acquit 
yourself  well.  You  will  receive  the  temporary  rank  of  cap- 
tain." 

"  I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you,  sir,  for  recommending  me. 
I  fear  that  I  am  very  young  for  such  a  position." 

"You  are  young,  certainly;  but  a  year  of  campaigning 
has  added  some  years  to  your  appearance.  And  as  far  as 
height  goes,  you  are  half  a  head  taller  than  the  majority  of 
Spaniards.  General  Evans  has  asked  me  to  bring  you  over 
to  him,  so  we  will  go  at  once.  Major  Hawkins  is  now  with 
him." 


106  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGIOtf 

They  walked  across  to  the  general's  house. 

"  Good-morning,  Captain  Hallett,"  the  general  said.  "  I 
am  glad  to  see  that  your  leg  has  quite  recovered.  Your 
knowledge  of  Spanish  has  been  of  service  to  us,  and  now  it 
will  be  of  advantage  to  yourself.  Colonel  Godfrey  has,  I 
suppose,  told  you  of  the  mission  which  I  propose  for  you, 
namely,  to  accompany  Major  Hawkins  as  his  assistant.  You 
will,  of  course,  be  under  his  orders.  He  also  speaks  Spanish, 
but  not  so  fluently  as  you  do.  In  case  of  his  falling  ill  or 
of  his  being  incapacitated,  you  will  carry  on  his  duties.  The 
post  will  be  to  some  extent  a  permanent  one.  The  Spanish 
government  pay  no  attention  to  my  letters,  and  it  is  there- 
fore absolutely  necessary  that  I  should  be  represented  and 
my  requests  urged  strongly  upon  them.  My  troops  are  half 
the  time  on  the  edge  of  starvation,  and  can  get  neither  pay 
nor  rations.  I  have  written  in  the  strongest  manner  to 
them.  I  think  it  will  be  as  well  for  you  to  go  as  an  officer 
on  my  staff.  The  Spanish  think  a  great  deal  of  dress; 'Cap- 
tain Forstairs  is  going  home  on  sick  leave,  and  will,  I  have 
no  doubt,  be  glad  to  dispose  of  his  uniform  for  a  trifle.  If 
it  will  be  any  inconvenience  to  you  to  buy  it,  I  will  have  any 
sum  you  require  handed  over  to  you  from  the  chest;  of 
course,  like  other  officers,  you  are  some  months  in  arrear 
with  your  pay.  And  indeed,  in  any  case,  an  allowance  will 
be  made  for  your  uniform,  unless  you  should  afterwards  be- 
come a  member  of  the  staff." 

"  Thank  you,  sir ;  but  I  am  well  supplied  with  money,  and 
can  purchase  the  articles  myself.  Should  I  only  use  the 
uniform  for  a  short  time,  I  will,  at  the  conclusion  of  my 
mission,  hand  it  into  store." 

"You  will  take  a  servant  with  you,  as  it  is  necessary  to 
keep  up  a  good  appearance.  Major  Hawkins  will  give  you 
all  necessary  instructions.  He  proposes  to  start  to-morrow." 

Greatly  pleased  at  his  appointment,  Arthur  first  went  to 
Captain  Forstairs'  quarters  and  purchased  his  uniform,  get- 
ting it  complete  for  a  five-pound  note.  He  then  went  to 
Roper. 


HE    BEGAN    TO   DRAG    HIMSELF   ALONG 


A   GREAT   CHANGE  107 

"  I  am  going  away  on  a  mission,  Roper,  and  may,  for  any- 
thing I  know,  remain  for  some  time  at  Madrid.  As  you 
know,  my  servant  was  killed  the  other  day,  and  I  want  an- 
other who  can  ride." 

"  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  go  with  you  if  you  will  take  me," 
Roper  said. 

"  But  you  see  you  are  a  non-commissioned  officer." 

"  Oh,  I  would  give  up  my  stripes  readily  enough  if  you 
will  take  me.  I  am  not  very  fond  of  the  captain  of  my 
company." 

"  Then  in  that  case  I  will  go  across  with  you  and  ask  him 
to  let  you  give  up  your  stripes.  You  are  quite  sure  that  you 
would  like  it?" 

"  Quite  sure ;  I  am  heartily  sick  of  San  Sebastian.  I  am 
accustomed  to  riding,  and  should  enjoy  the  trip  greatly." 

They  went  away  to  the  house  where  the  captain  was  lodg- 
ing, and  Arthur  had  no  difficulty  in  getting  him  to  consent 
to  the  sergeant's  resignation,  and  to  give  him  permission  to 
accompany  him.  Arthur  then  bought  for  Roper  a  service- 
able horse.  This  done,  he  went  to  the  major's. 

"  I  have  got  the  uniform,  and  shall  be  ready  to  start  in  the 
morning,  sir,"  he  said. 

"  I  am  glad  that  you  are  going  with  me,  Captain  Hallett," 
said  the  major,  who  having  been  in  the  Legion  since  its  for- 
mation, knew  Arthur  well.  "  I  am  sure  we  shall  get  on  well 
together ;  and  as  I  am  rather  shaky  in  my  Spanish,  it  will  be 
of  great  assistance  to  have  you  with  me.  I  may  tell  you 
that  I  am  the  bearer  of  a  note  from  General  Evans  saying 
that  unless  money  is  sent  for  the  pay  of  his  troops  he  will 
engage  in  no  further  operations.  The  Spanish  army  is  regu- 
larly paid,  and  there  can  be  no  reason  why  we  should  not  be. 
More  than  that,  he  will  withdraw  into  San  Sebastian.  We 
have  shown  brilliantly  enough  that  we  can  fight,  and  we 
have  done  more  with  our  small  force  than  Cordova  has  with 
his  big  army.  I  am  convinced  that  our  threat  to  retire  from 
the  struggle  will  wake  them  up.  At  the  same  time,  we  must 


108  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

not  be  too  sanguine  about  our  getting  through.  We  shall 
take  the  road  by  Bilbao  to  Vittoria.  So  far  it  will  be  plain 
sailing,  but  after  that  I  expect  we  shall  find  some  difficulty, 
for  the  Carlists  are  strongly  posted  a  few  miles  from  the 
town.  I  expect  we  shall  have  to  hire  a  guide  to  take  us  across 
the  mountains.  However,  we  shall  have  plenty  of  time  to 
think  of  that  when  we  get  there." 

Arthur  now  went  down  to  the  camp  of  the  Lancers,  who 
had  arrived  a  few  weeks  before.  They  had  had  two  or  three 
deaths  since  they  came,  and  on  making  enquiries  Arthur 
found  that  he  could  purchase  for  a  few  shillings  a  Lancer's 
suit.  This  he  handed  to  Roper,  whom  he  had  taken  with 
him,  and  he  told  him  to  carry  the  suit  back  and  put  it  on. 

"  Your  clothes  are  not  fit  to  be  seen  in,"  he  said,  "  and 
this  suit  is  a  very  fair  one.  If  you  give  it  a  good  cleaning 
to-night  it  will  be  quite  respectable,  and  you  will  look  much 
smarter  in  it  than  in  that  ragged  thing." 

"  It  looks  pretty  bad,  certainly,  sir,  and  is  none  the  better 
for  having  lost  all  its  buttons;  there  is  hardly  a  button  left 
in  the  regiment.  When  they  are  hammered  down,  the  na- 
tives here  take  them  as  coins.  They  know  nothing  about 
money,  and  I  expect  these  buttons  will  be  passing  about 
as  cash  long  after  we  have  all  cleared  out  of  this.  I  sha'n't 
know  myself  in  my  new  rig-out.  The  man  it  belonged  to 
has  evidently  taken  care  of  it.  There  is  only  one  thing  you 
have  forgotten,  sir,  and  that  is  the  saddle." 

"Yes,  I  have  forgotten  that.  Here  are  three  pounds — 
you  had  better  buy  one." 

The  party  started  early  the  next  morning  and  went  by  boat 
to  Bilbao,  slept  there,  and  rode  the  next  day  to  Vittoria. 
Here  they  halted  for  a  day,  and  going  to  head-quarters  ob- 
tained the  services  of  a  guide  to  take  them  across  the  moun- 
tains. On  starting  on  the  following  morning  they  at  once 
left  the  main  road,  and  presently  struck  up  into  the  hills. 
The  road  was  extremely  bad,  and  they  were  forced  to  go  at 
a  walk;  the  guide,  who  was  mounted  on  a  mule,  rode  on 


A   GREAT   CHANGE  109 

ahead.  They  halted  for  the  night  at  a  deserted  hut  some 
distance  down  the  descent.  Here  they  took  shelter,  con- 
gratulating themselves  that  another  day's  ride  would  take 
them  to  Burgos,  where  there  was  a  strong  garrison.  They 
had  brought  provisions  with  them,  and  having  made  a  hearty 
meal  lay  down  for  the  night.  Next  morning  they  continued 
their  journey,  and  were  near  the  plains  when  they  saw  a 
party  of  men  hurrying  towards  them. 

"  They  are  Carlists ! "  the  major  said.  "  It  is  of  no  use 
turning  back  or  going  up  the  hill ;  they  would  run  our  horses 
to  death.  Look  here,  Captain  Hallett,  they  will  cut  us  off, 
that  is  evident;  but  we  may  make  our  way  through  them. 
I  will  put  my  papers  in  my  holster.  If  I  fall,  snatch  them 
out  and  carry  them  on.  Now,  let  us  gallop." 

Setting  spurs  to  their  horses,  the  four  men  dashed  for- 
ward. Half  a  dozen  of  the  Carlists  reached  the  road  before 
them,  but  drew  back  before  the  impetuosity  of  the  charge, 
firing  their  rifles  as  they  did  so.  Without  a  halt  the  little 
party  dashed  on  at  full  speed.  For  a  time  the  Carlists  at- 
tempted to  keep  up  with  them,  but  were  soon  left  far  behind. 

"  I  am  done  for ! "  the  major  said,  swaying  in  his  saddle. 
"  They  hit  me  as  I  passed  through  them.  Take  the  papers 
and  ride  on." 

"I  cannot  leave  you,  sir."  And  leaning  over,  Arthur 
caught  the  major  as  he  was  falling,  and  lifted  him  on  to 
the  horse  before  him.  He  rode  on  for  another  half-mile,  by 
which  time  the  Carlists  were  out  of  sight.  But  his  burden 
had  become  more  and  more  heavy  in  his  arms,  and  when  he 
drew  his  horse  up,  he  found  that  the  major  had  breathed  his 
last. 

"I  am  hit,  too,  sir,"  the  major's  servant  said;  "I  have  a 
bullet  in  my  hip." 

"We  are  not  more  than  ten  miles  from  Burgos  now.  I 
am  afraid  there  is  no  chance  of  obtaining  help  until  we  get 
there.  Roper,  bring  the  major's  horse  up  against  mine," 
for  the  animal  had  followed  its  companions.  "  That's  it. 


110  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

Now  tie  that  head-rope  round  the  major  and  ride  on  one 
side  of  him,  and  I  will  ride  on  the  other.  We  shall  have  to 
walk  for  the  rest  of  the  distance." 

It  took  them  three  hours  to  reach  the  town.  Arthur  went 
at  once  to  the  citadel  and  saw  the  governor.  "  I  have 
brought  with  me  a  major  in  our  army,"  he  said.  "  He  was 
the  bearer  of  a  despatch  to  your  minister  of  war.  We  were 
attacked  by  a  party  of  Carlists  nearly  ten  miles  away,  and 
he  was  shot.  I  beg  that  you  will  give  him  a  military  funeral, 
as  he  fell  in  the  cause  of  your  queen.  I  have  also  a  trooper 
with  me  who  is  severely  wounded.  I  will,  with  your  permis- 
sion, leave  him  here  in  hospital." 

"  Certainly,  sir.  The  officer  shall  be  buried  to-morrow 
morning.  I  am  grieved  indeed  that  none  of  my  men  went 
up  the  road  this  morning.  They  go  up  every  other  day  to 
prevent  bands  of  Carlists  from  raiding  over  the  country." 

The  governor  invited  Arthur  to  stop  in  the  castle.  The 
body  of  the  major  was  laid  in  a  room  close  by,  and  on  the 
following  morning  he  was  buried  with  military  honours. 

"I  will  take  the  major's  horse  with  me,  Koper,"  Arthur 
said,  when  all  was  over ;  "  it  is  a  good  horse,  and  a  spare  one 
may  be  useful.  At  any  rate  we  may  as  well  keep  him." 

Accordingly,  after  thanking  the  governor  for  his  courtesy, 
they  proceeded  on  their  way,  Roper  leading  the  spare  horse. 

"We  have  begun  badly,"  Arthur  said,  as  they  rode  from 
the  town.  "  The  major  was  a  brave  fellow  and  a  good  soldier. 
It  is  sad  indeed  that  he  should  have  been  killed  in  a  skir- 
mish like  this.  It  leaves  me  in  a  very  awkward  position. 
However,  I  must  deliver  the  letter.  There  are  two  or  three 
British  commissioners  out  here,  and  if  one  of  them  happens 
to  be  at  Madrid  I  shall  ask  him  to  present  me  and  to  help 
me  on  a  bit." 

"  I  hope  we  are  not  likely  to  meet  with  any  more  of  these 
Carlist  chaps." 

"I  hope  not,  Roper;  but  really  I  don't  know  anything 
about  it.  We  got  no  news  at  San  Sebastian  of  what  was 


A   GEE  AT   CHANGE  111 

going  on  elsewhere,  but  they  can  hardly  be  wandering  about 
on  the  flat  country.  I  fancy  they  are  almost  all  infantry, 
in  which  case  they  will  not  care  to  expose  themselves  to  an 
attack  by  cavalry." 

They  arrived  at  Madrid  without  adventure.  They  put  up 
at  the  Hotel  Principes,  and  to  Arthur's  relief  found  upon 
enquiry  that  Colonel  Wylde,  the  chief  British  commissioner, 
was  at  present  staying  at  the  hotel.  He  at  once  went  to  his 
room. 

"I  have  called,  sir,"  he  began,  after  introducing  himself, 
"  to  ask  you  if  you  will  be  good  enough  to  give  me  some  in- 
formation as  to  how  I  had  better  proceed.  I  started  from 
San  Sebastian  as  assistant  to  Major  Hawkins  of  our  Legion. 
He  was  the  bearer  of  a  letter  from  General  Evans  with  com- 
plaints about  pay  and  provisions.  Both  officers  and  men 
are  many  months  in  arrears.  Major  Hawkins  was  instructed 
to  inform  the  ministers  of  war  and  finance  that  unless  the 
money  were  sent  immediately,  the  general  would  withdraw 
the  whole  of  his  force  into  San  Sebastian,  and  take  no  fur- 
ther part  in  the  fighting.  He  has  sent  remonstrance  after 
remonstrance  without  success,  and  feels  that  matters  can  be 
allowed  to  drift  no  longer.  The  men  are  in  rags  and  are 
half -starved.  On  our  way  down  we  were  attacked  by  Carlists 
and  Major  Hawkins  was  killed.  I  carried  him  into  Burgos, 
where  he  was  buried  with  military  honours.  I  only  received 
my  appointment  as  his  assistant  on  the  day  before  leaving, 
and  beyond  the  fact  that  I  was  to  remain  here  to  assist  him 
generally  in  acting  as  General  Evans's  representative,  I  know 
nothing  of  the  duties.  Considering  the  importance  of  the 
mission,  and  the  absolute  necessity  that  money  shall  be  sent 
without  delay,  I  have  ventured  to  ask  that  you  will  introduce 
me  in  the  first  place  to  the  two  ministers  to  whom  I  bring 
letters,  and  if  you  will,  as  far  as  you  can,  support  his  appli- 
cation." 

"I  will  gladly  do  so,  Captain  Hallett.  Indeed,  it  is  my 
duty  to  aid  you.  I  am  not  charged  in  any  way  to  interfere 


112  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

with  our  Spanish  Legion,  but  incidentally  anything  that  is 
of  importance  to  the  general  cause  would  of  course  be  of  in- 
terest to  our  government.  We  may  at  present  be  called 
benevolent  neutrals.  I  am  well  aware  that  General  Evans 
has  sent  repeated  applications,  and  that  practically  no  result 
whatever  has  come  of  it.  I  will  therefore  not  only  go  with 
you,  as  you  ask,  but  I  will  myself  urge  upon  them  the  im- 
portance of  the  application,  pointing  out  that  by  refusing 
the  necessary  means  to  General  Evans  they  are  in  fact  break- 
ing the  terms  upon  which  that  Legion  was  raised;  and  that 
being  so,  the  general  would  be  acting  with  perfect  propriety 
in  withdrawing  the  troops  from  the  field,  and  giving  per- 
mission to  all  who  may  choose  to  leave  at  once,  which  would 
of  course  mean  a  complete  break-up  of  the  Legion. 

"  They  will  not  wish  that.     It  was  humiliating  for  the 
Spanish  to  be  forced  to  hire  foreign  soldiers  to  assist  them, 
and  no  doubt  that  feeling  has  driven  them  to  treat  the  Legion 
very  badly j\  but  at  the  same  time  they  have  themselves  been 
continually  in  want  of  money.     A  considerable  proportion 
of  the  country  is  in  arms  against  them,  and  their  resources 
have  been  greatly  diminished  in  consequence.     This,  how- 
ever, after  all,  is  no  excuse  for  them.     They  offered  certain      - 
terms  to  men  to  fight  for  them,  and  the  bargain  should  have  f 
been  kept.     It  was  the  same  in  the  Peninsular  War.     We 
went  to  fight  their  battles,  and  they  threw  every  impediment 
in  our  way,  starved  our  men  when  they  themselves  had  a    ; 
superabundance  of  supplies,   and  so  created   a  hatred  far 
greater  than  our  men  felt  for  the  French. 

"  They  are  behaving  in  exactly  the  same  way  now ;  but,  so 
far  as  our  troops  are  concerned,  there  is  one  broad  difference. 
In  the  first  war  we  fought  partly,  at  any  rate,  from  feelings 
of  patriotism;  whereas  in  the  present  case,  although  a  few 
may  have  gone  into  it  from  a  feeling  of  sympathy  for  the 
little  queen,  the  great  proportion  of  the  Legion  are  neither 
more  nor  less  than  mercenaries,  and  would  have  enlisted  as 
readily  for  Don  Carlos  as  for  Isabella.  And  now,  sir,  I  will 


A   GREAT   CHANGE  113 

go  across  to  the  war  office  with  you.  I  have  myself  many 
times  urged  that  steps  should  be  taken  to  relieve  the  neces- 
sities of  the  troops,  and  I  am  not  at  all  sorry  that  General 
Evans  has  at  last  put  his  foot  down." 

It  was  but  a  short  walk  across  the  square,  for  the  hotel 
faced  the  war  office.  On  Colonel  Wylde  sending  in  his  name 
he  was  at  once  admitted. 

"  Well,  Colonel  Wylde,  what  can  I  do  for  you? "  the  min- 
ister said  cheerfully. 

"  I  have  brought  across  to  present  to  you,  senor,  Captain 
Hallett,  who  has  just  arrived  from  San  Sebastian  with  a  very 
important  letter  from  General  Evans.  He  was  accompanied 
by  an  officer  senior  to  him,  but  the  latter  was  killed  by  a 
party  of  Carlists  as  they  came  along." 

The  minister  looked  sharply  up  at  Arthur,  who,  bowing, 
handed  him  the  letter.  He  begged  them  to  be  seated,  and 
opened  the  communication.  He  frowned  heavily,  and  then 
with  a  very  evident  effort  recovered  himself. 

"The  matter  shall  be  seen  to,"  he  said.  "You  know, 
Colonel  Wylde,  how  straitened  our  resources  are,  and  that 
nothing  would  please  us  more  than  to  comply  with  all  Gen- 
eral Evans's  requests.  No  one  can  grieve  more  than  I  do 
at  the  delays  that  have  taken  place  in  complying  with  his 
requisitions." 

"But,  sir,"  Arthur  said,  "the  Spanish  troops  are  always 
well-fed,  though  it  may  be  that  their  pay  is  sometimes  in 
arrears.  Our  troops  get  neither  food  nor  pay.  They  are  in 
rags,  and  many  of  them  are  barefoot.  No  single  promise 
that  has  been  made  to  them  since  the  day  they  landed  has 
been  kept.  Nearly  a  third  of  their  number  have  died  of  fever 
brought  on  by  cold  and  want,  and  yet  in  spite  of  this  they 
have  been  ready  to  fight,  while  so  many  of  your  own  generals 
have  held  back.  You  think  I  am  bold,  sir?  I  am  urging 
the  cause  of  some  five  thousand  of  my  countrymen,  who  have, 
confiding  in  Spanish  honour,  come  out  here  to  fight  your  bat- 
tles. If  you  could  go  and  look  at  them  yourself,  sir,  and 


114:  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

see  their  condition,  you  would  pity  them,  and  would  marvel 
that  they  have  so  long  shown  patience.  Feed  them  and  pay 
them,  and  they  can  be  depended  upon  to  carry  out  their 
share  of  the  agreement.  But  assuredly  they  cannot  be  de- 
pended upon  if  they  are  starved." 

"  I  am  not  surprised,  sir,"  Colonel  Wylde  said,  "  that  Gen- 
eral Evans  feels  that  no  more  can  be  done.  The  officers  have 
been  now  nine  months  without  their  pay,  the  soldiers  six 
months.  More  than  a  third  of  their  number  have  died  or 
been  invalided  home;  and  the  heavy  list  of  their  killed  and 
wounded  in  battle  speaks  for  itself  of  the  bravery  with  which 
they  fought.  I  must  say  that  I  approve  of  General  Evans's 
decision.  He  owes  it  to  the  men  who  serve  under  him,  and 
I  cannot  but  say  that  the  treatment  they  have  received  has 
been  a  grave  scandal  and  dishonour  to  the  government  of 
Spain.  I  have  myself  been  four  times  to  Madrid  to  urge 
their  claim,  and  absolutely  nothing  has  been  done.  I  con- 
sider that  General  Evans  will  be  amply  justified  in  carrying 
out  his  threat." 

"  The  matter  shall  be  seen  to  at  once,"  the  minister  said, 
with  an  air  of  frankness.  "  I  will  consult  my  colleague  the 
minister  of  finance,  and  will  see  that  money  is  forwarded 
very  shortly.  You  can  assure  your  general,  senor,"  he  said 
to  Arthur,  "  that  steps  shall  be  taken  to  comply  with  his  re- 
quest without  delay." 

"  I  will  send  a  message  to  that  effect.  My  own  orders  are 
to  remain  here  until  the  treasure  has  been  sent  off;  and  that 
even  when  that  is  done  I  am  to  stay  here  as  the  general's 
representative  to  convey  his  wishes  personally  to  you,  until 
at  any  rate  all  arrears  of  pay  have  been  cleared  off.  It  is 
not  a  favour  that  we  are  demanding,  but  a  right.  I  shall  do 
myself  the  honour  of  calling  upon  you  every  day  or  two,  to 
ascertain  when  the  convoy  with  treasure  will  start.  Of 
course  you  can  refuse  me  admittance,  but  General  Evans  will 
know  what  that  means." 

After  a  few  more  words  Colonel  Wylde  and  Arthur  left 
the  ministry. 


A   GKEAT  CHANGE  115 

"You  spoke  out  straight,  Hallett,"  the  British  commis- 
sioner said  with  a  smile. 

"  I  could  not  help  doing  so,  sir.  The  state  of  the  men  is 
pitiful  in  the  extreme,  j  They  are  scarecrows ;  they  have  prac- 
tically no  uniform  whatever  save  their  greatcoats,  and  they 
are  in  rags.  I  should  have  liked  to  take  the  little  man  by 
the  neck  and  shake  him." 

"  They  are  in  a  bad  way  themselves,"  the  colonel  said. 
"  The  court  is  a  perfect  nest  of  intrigue.  There  are  some- 
thing like  half  a  dozen  parties,  each  with  their  own  nominees 
to  push  and  their  own  interests  to  serve.  Large  sums  are 
wrung  from  the  people,  but  they  are  for  the  most  part  abso- 
lutely wasted  in  jobbery.  If  it  were  not  that  the  British  gov- 
ernment have  taken  the  part  of  Isabella,  I  should  recommend 
them  to  stand  aside  altogether  and  let  the  factions  fight  it 
out.  There  are  a  few  honest  men  on  both  sides,  and  the  Car- 
lists  indeed  know  what  they  are  fighting  for.  To  the  other 
side  it  is  a  matter  of  indifference  who  wins,  provided  they 
themselves  can  feather  their  nests.  They  are  not  fighting 
for  the  poor  little  queen,  but  for  their  own  private  interests. 

"Well,  I  know  a  good  many  people  here  now,  and  shall 
have  much  pleasure  in  introducing  you  to  their  houses  and 
making  things  pleasant  for  you ;  for  it  is  evident  that  if,  as 
you  say,  you  have  to  stay  here  until  all  arrears  of  pay  are 
received  by  the  Legion,  you  will  assuredly  wait  for  an  in- 
definite time.  I  am  going  to  a  reception  this  evening  at  half- 
past  nine,  and  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  present  you  there  if 
you  will  call  for  me  ten  minutes  earlier." 

"  Thank  you  very  much,  sir !  I  should  be  very  glad  to 
make  the  acquaintance  of  some  of  the  people." 

Soon  after  his  return  to  the  hotel  Roper  came  up.  "  I 
have  seen  the  horses  fed,  sir;  what,  is  the  next  job?" 

"  The  next  thing  will  be  to  get  a  meal,  Roper ;  I  am  going 
to  do  the  same." 

"  Oh,  I  have  done  that,  sir,  and  it  was  the  best  meal  I 
have  had  for  some  time,  I  may  say  since  I  left  England." 


116  WITH    THE    BBITISH    LEGION 

"  Well,  I  sha'n't  want  you  any  more  at  present,  so  I  should 
advise  you  to  take  a  turn  round.  Some  of  the  soldiers  are 
sure  to  get  into  conversation  with  you,  and  as  we  are  likely 
to  be  here  for  some  time  it  is  just  as  well  that  you  should 
make  some  friends.  You  know  enough  Spanish  to  get  on 
with;  I  expect  a  little  will  go  a  long  way." 

"  Is  there  any  chance  of  our  getting  our  money,  sir  ? " 

"  I  expect  we  shall  get  some.  Now  that  the  Spaniards  see 
that  they  have  got  to  do  something  or  let  the  troops  go 
home,  they  will  pay  up  enough  to  keep  them  quiet  for  a  time. 
I  don't  suppose  it  will  be  much,  but  sufficient  to  keep  the 
wolf  from  the  door  at  any  rate." 

"  Well,  sir,  will  you  mind  if  I  go  out  in  mufti.  I  picked 
up  for  a  few  shillings  some  clothes  belonging  to  a  Spaniard, 
who  died  before  I  came  away.  They  are  respectable  sort  of 
clothes,  and  I  thought,  if  I  were  going  to  stop  here,  that 
you  would  let  me  wear  them.  In  this  uniform  I  should  be 
a  sort  of  show.  Everyone  would  be  wondering  who  I  was." 

"  Certainly,  if  you  like,  Roper,  and  I  think  it  is  a  very 
sensible  idea.  You  would  be  able  to  stroll  about  in  them 
without  attracting  any  attention,  but  at  the  same  time,  you 
know,  you  would  not  be  able  to  make  friends  with  the  sol- 
diers." 

"  Oh,  I  shall  get  into  talk  with  them,  sir ;  a  glass  of  aguar- 
diente will  go  a  long  way  with  those  chaps,  and  of  course  I 
shall  let  them  know  that  I  am  a  soldier  myself." 

"Yes,  Roper,  and  there  will  be  the  advantage  that  with 
you  in  plain  clothes,  I  can  walk  about  with  you,  which  will 
be  a  good  deal  more  pleasant  for  both  of  us;  so  if  you  will 
change  your  things  while  I  am  at  dinner,  we  can  take  a 
turn  together  afterwards." 

"Thank  you,  sir;  I  should  like  that  very  much.  It  is  a 
biggish  town;  I  shall  feel  quite  lost  in  it  for  a  bit." 

A  few  minutes  later  the  bell  of  the  table  d'hote  rang. 
Arthur  went  down  to  it.  The  table  was  full,  and  he  speedily 
became  engaged  in  talk  with  people  sitting  next  to  him,  who 


A   GREAT   CHANGE  117 

were  much  interested  on  finding  that  he  was  a  British  officer. 
They  asked  him  many  questions  as  to  the  state  of  things  in 
the  north,  about  which  there  were  all  sorts  of  contradictory 
reports.  He,  on  his  part,  learned  something,  for  he  heard  that 
it  was  generally  expected  that  Cordova  was  going  to  be  made 
war  minister.  After  dinner  two  or  three  officers  came  up 
and  spoke  to  him,  and  when  they  heard  that  he  was  on  Gen- 
eral Evans's  staff,  said  that  they  would  be  glad  if  he  would 
smoke  a  cigar  with  them.  He  answered,  however,  that  he  was 
engaged  for  the  evening,  but  would  be  very  glad  to  do  so 
on  some  other  occasion.  Then  he  went  down  and  joined 
Roper,  who  was  standing  at  the  door  of  the  hotel,  and  walked 
about  with  him  for  a  couple  of  hours. 

"  What  hands  these  chaps  are  for  cloaks ! "  the  latter  said. 
"  In  the  north  I  used  to  think  that  they  wore  them  to  hide 
their  shabby  clothes,  but  it  can't  be  the  same  here.  There  is 
a  cold  feel  about  the  air,  and  I  should  not  be  sorry  to  have 
on  one  myself.  This  is  evidently  the  time  they  stroll  about 
most.  The  square  looked  quite  empty  this  morning,  and  now 
it  is  full  of  people  walking  up  and  down." 

"  Well,  Roper,  I  must  be  off,  for  I  am  going  as  I  told  you, 
with  Colonel  Wylde." 

It  was  a  large  house,  and  the  rooms  were  very  full.  When 
they  entered,  the  colonel  at  once  took  Arthur  up  to  the 
hostess  and  introduced  him. 

"What  is  your  news  from  the  front,  Captain  Hallett?" 
she  asked. 

"  There  has  been  nothing  doing  for  the  past  month,"  he 
answered.  "  San  Sebastian  is  very  full.  The  Carlists  look 
at  us  from  a  distance,  and  we  look  at  them." 

Then  he  passed  on  as  another  guest  came  up.     Colonel 

Wylde  introduced  him  to  several  ladies  and  gentlemen,  and 

Uhen  left  him  to  talk  with  a  personage  who  was  evidently 

r  Ly  of  importance.     There  was  no  dancing  going  on.     The  re- 

:,  freshments  served  were  of  the  lightest  description. 

"  This  is  a  change  indeed  to  me,"  Arthur  said.    "  It  seems 


118  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION" 

to  be  another  world  almost;  to  say  that  we  have  been  living 
roughly  would  be  but  a  faint  idea  of  the  state  of  things." 

"  And  how  are  things  getting  on  up  there  ? " 

"  It  is  dull  work  except  when  there  is  a  fight,  and  we  know 
nothing  whatever  of  what  passes  elsewhere." 

"  Are  all  your  officers  as  young  as  you  are  ? " 

"No,  madam.  I  have  been  exceptionally  fortunate,  and 
owe  my  promotion  largely  to  the  fact  that  I  have,  since  we 
landed,  spent  all  my  spare  time  in  learning  Spanish." 

"You  speak  it  very  well,  Captain  Hallett." 

"  I  speak  it  well  enough  for  all  practical  purposes,  senora, 
and  should  speak  it  better  still  if  it  were  not  that  the  lan- 
guage up  in  the  north  differs  very  widely  from  that  spoken 
here." 

Several  cards  were  left  on  the  following  day  for  Arthur. 
In  the  majority  of  cases  these  mentioned  which  day  their 
owners  received  visitors.  On  the  second  day  he  called  on  the 
minister  of  war,  and  was  told  by  him  that  every  possible 
effort  was  being  made,  and  that  he  hoped  in  a  few  days  to 
send  off  a  portion  at  least  of  the  sum  due. 

Arthur  then  wrote  a  despatch  to  General  Evans  telling 
him  of  Major  Hawkins's  death,  and  relating  his  interview 
with  the  minister.  "I  think,"  he  said,  "that  some  money 
will  be  sent,  but  I  anticipate  that  the  sum  is  likely  to  be  ex- 
ceedingly small.  From  what  I  hear,  I  believe  that  the  gov- 
ernment are  really  very  short  of  money.  The  minister  was 
evidently  much  alarmed  at  your  threat  to  disband  the  Le- 
gion, and  he  will  make  every  effort  to  induce  you  to  alter 
that  determination.  I  shall  endeavour  to  see  him  every 
other  day,  and  shall  continually  repeat  my  assurances  that 
you  are  in  earnest  on  the  subject.  Colonel  Wylde  is  also 
using  his  efforts  in  the  same  direction.  He  has  been  very 
kind  to  me,  and  introduced  me  to  many  people." 

It  was  three  weeks,  however,  before  a  month's  pay  was 
despatched,  with  promises  that  more  should  speedily  follow. 

By  this  time  Arthur  had  become  quite  at  home  in  Madrid. 


A   GEE AT  CHANGE  119 

He  knew  many  officers  to  speak  to.  Some  of  these  belonged 
to  the  garrison;  others  seemed  to  have  no  good  cause  for 
being  there,  but  kept  up  the  pretence  of  being  engaged  on 
important  business.  One  of  them  said  to  him  one  day,  "We 
seem  a  very  united  family,  do  we  not  ? " 

"  Yes ;  no  one  would  dream  from  the  appearance  of  Madrid 
that  a  civil  war  was  going  on." 

"And  yet  society  is  split  up  into  a  number  of  sections, 
each  working  secretly  against  the  others.  Outwardly  there 
is  no  sign  of  this;  everyone  goes  to  the  receptions  and  looks 
smiling  and  pleasant.  Practically  everyone  doubts  everyone* 
else ;  and  there  are  numbers  of  well-known  Carlists,  but  they 
hold  their  tongues,  at  any  rate  in  public,  and  rub  shoulders 
with  the  men  whom  they  would  gladly  kill.  It  is  funny, ; 
when  you  are  able  to  look  behind  the  scenes  a  little.  I  have 
no  doubt  you  will  be  able  to  do  so  before  long.  I  saw  you 
chatting,  for  example,  with  Senor  Durango,  a  very  nice 
young  fellow.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he  and  his  family  are 
all  Carlists;  but  they  are  well  connected,  and  have  plenty 
of  friends  among  the  Christinos. 

"  I  believe  two-thirds  of  the  people  you  meet  don't  care 
a  snap  which  party  wins.  If  they  are  here,  of  course  they 
profess  to  be  Christinos;  if  they  are  away  in  the  provinces, 
they  hold  correspondence  with  Carlists  that  they  may  keep 
themselves  safe  whichever  side  wins. 

"Altogether,  I  consider  that  the  Carlists  are  more  in 
earnest;  the  Christinos  are  the  more  numerous,  simply  be- 
cause they  hold  the  capital  and  the  government.  If  the 
Carlists  were  to  gain  one  great  success,  it  would  be  the  other 
way.  It  is  a  game  of  self-interest;  Don  Carlos  and  Chris- 
tina are  merely  counters.  Some  want  governments,  others  \  —  *£# 
titles,  others  posts  in  the  ministry,  others  commands — there/ 
is  nothing  real  about  it  from  beginning  to  end,  except  for 
the  poor  devils  of  soldiers  who  have  to  fight.  You  will  see 
that  in  a  short  time  Cordova  will  retire,  and  that  Espartero 
will  probably  take  the  command;  that  would  be  certainly 


120  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

welcome  to  the  army.  He  is  a  fine  fellow,  and  if  he  were 
allowed  he  would  be  able  to  do  great  things;  but  he  would 
no  sooner  be  appointed  than  a  dead-set  would  be  made  at 
him,  and  he  would  be  hampered  in  every  way.  Well,  I  must 
be  going.  I  dare  say  you  are  wondering  what  is  my  motive 
in  staying  here.  Well,  I  am  trying  to  get  the  command  of 

regiment,  and  a  regiment,  if  possible,  stationed  here  in  the 
capital.  Adieu ! "  And  throwing  his  cloak  over  his  shoul- 
der he  sauntered  away. 

1  Arthur  sat  some  time  thinking.  "Well,  if  the  Legion 
breaks  up,  which  I  expect  it  will  do  before  long,  I  think  I 
shall  stay  out  here.  If  I  take  a  lodging  and  live  quietly,  I 
^an  do  on  my  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  a  year.  There 
will  be  a  lot  to  see,  and  probably  no  end  of  fun.  I  have  got 
jbighty  pounds  now,  so  I  can  a  little  exceed  my  allowance. 
/I  should  certainly  like  to  have  some  fun  again;  I  have  had 
'  little  enough,  goodness  knows !  since  I  left  England.  Be- 
sides, if  I  were  to  go  home  now  I  should  have  thrown  away 
all  the  time  that  I  have  spent  in  getting  up  Spanish.  It 
is  funny  how  they  all  take  me  for  at  least  five-  or  six-and- 
twenty." 

The  month's  pay  had  some  effect.  For  a  short  time  the 
troops  were  somewhat  better  off.  Arthur  had  received  a  let- 
ter from  General  Evans  thanking  him  for  obtaining  a  small 
proportion  of  the  sum  due,  and  urging  him  to  continue  his 
work.  Then  he  heard  that  there  had  been  some  more  fight- 
ing, that  Irun  had  been  captured  by  storm,  and  that  several 
other  towns  had  either  been  taken  or  had  surrendered.  Two 
months  later  he  received  another  letter  from  the  general  say- 
ing that  he  was  going  home,  and  that  the  Legion  was  about 
to  be  disbanded. 

"  A  small  body  of  about  eight  hundred  men  have  agreed  to 
remain  here  to  form  a  new  Legion;  this  may  succeed  for  a 
time,  but  I  have  little  doubt  that  they  will  be  treated  in  the 
same  way  as  we  have  been.  However,  it  will  be  open  for 
you  to  join  it  if  you  are  willing  to  do  so,  or  you  can  make 


A    GKEAT   CHANGE  121 

your  way  down  to  Cadiz  and  come  home  by  ship  from  there. 
I  enclose  an  order  on  Madrid  for  forty  pounds  for  yourself 
and  fifteen  pounds  for  your  man,  which  has  been  lying  in 
the  hands  of  the  paymaster  here  until  you  should  return. 
Should  you  wish  it,  you  can,  I  have  no  doubt,  enter  the 
Christino  army  with  your  present  rank." 

"  That  is  something  out  of  the  fire  anyhow,"  Arthur  said, 
as  he  put  the  order  into  his  pocket-book.  "  Well,  if  the  Le- 
gion failed,  it  was  not  from  want  of  pluck.  Out  of  about 
six  thousand,  we  have  had  over  two  hundred  killed  and 
wounded  officers  and  over  two  thousand  three  hundred  rank 
and  file;  so  though  we  have  not  achieved  anything,  we  cer- 
tainly need  not  be  ashamed  of  our  fighting.  Besides,  at  least 
two  thousand  five  hundred  have  died  in  hospital,  so  that  half 
our  strength  is  accounted  for." 

Roper  shortly  afterwards  came  in. 

"  The  Legion  is  disbanded,  Roper,  and  it  is  open  to  you 
to  go  north  and  embark  with  the  rest,  or  to  go  down  to  Cadiz 
and  take  a  passage  home  from  there." 

"What  are  you  going  to  do,  sir?" 

"I  am  going  to  stay  here  in  a  private  capacity;  I  want 
to  see  the  end  of  the  thing.  I  shall  make  this  my  head- 
quarters, and  shall  ride  about  and  see  what  goes  on.  I  know 
a  good  many  officers  now,  and  they  can  give  me  letters  of 
introduction  to  others;  and  as  I  have  fought  for  them,  no 
doubt  I  shall  be  well  received  in  their  army.  At  any  rate, 
I  have  no  wish  to  go  home  at  present." 

"  Can't  I  stay  with  you,  sir? " 

"  I  should  like  to  have  you  with  me  certainly,  but  I  can't 
afford  to  pay  your  wages." 

"  Well,  sir,  my  food  would  not  come  to  much,  and  I  like 
the  place,  and  I  like  the  life,  and  above  all,  I  like  being 
with  you.  You  must  have  someone  to  look  after  your  horse. 
I  don't  want  to  go  home  empty-handed,  and  I  would  cer- 
tainly a  great  deal  rather  not  do  so,  but  stop  here  if  you 
would  keep  me." 


122  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

"  I  would  keep  you  willingly  enough,  Koper,  but  the  only 
question  is — can  I?  I  must  move  out  of  this  lodging  and 
find  a  smaller  one.  One  certainly  could  live  cheaply  enough 
here  at  the  cafes;  no  one  seems  to  take  anything  but  coffee 
or  chocolate,  and  a  cup  seems  to  last  them  for  hours.  From 
the  large  number  of  people  one  meets  at  the  cafes  and  sees 
nowhere  else,  I  should  say  that  they  must  dine  at  some  cheap 
place  or  at  their  homes.  However,  we  will  think  it  over." 

A  few  days  after  his  arrival  at  Madrid,  Arthur  had  written 
home. 

"My  dear  Uncle, 

"  You  will  be  surprised  to  see  by  the  head- 
ing of  this  letter  that  I  am  at  Madrid.  But  my  first  piece  of 
news  is,  that  I  am  now  a  captain,  nominally  upon  the  staff 
of  General  Evans,  but  actually  on  detached  duty,  a  duty 
which  is  likely  to  keep  me  here  for  some  time — in  fact,  until 
the  Legion  is  disbanded.  Therefore  you  need  feel  no  fur- 
ther anxiety  as  to  my  safety.  I  am  here  to  endeavour  to 
worry  the  government  into  sending  stores  and  pay  for  the 
Legion.  To  this  end  I  call  upon  the  minister  of  war  every 
few  days.  The  first  time  he  saw  me ;  since  then  he  has  always 
been  too  busy.  I  have  also  called  upon  the  prime  minister, 
and  have  spoken  to  him  with  what  he  considered  indecent 
warmth,  and  I  don't  expect  to  do  much  good  in  the  future. 
However,  here  I  am. 

"  I  am  at  present  in  an  hotel.  The  food  is  good,  the  bed 
is  soft.  I  have  with  me  my  good  friend  Roper,  of  whom  I 
have  spoken  to  you  in  almost  every  letter  I  have  written. 
When  the  good  fellow  found  that  I  was  coming  here,  he 
threw  up  his  sergeant's  stripes  to  accompany  me  as  my  ser- 
vant ;  it  is  a  great  comfort  having  him  with  me.  I  have  been 
made  a  member  of  the  principal  club  here,  and  have  already 
made  several  acquaintances,  so  I  have  no  doubt  that  I  shall 
have  a  pleasant  time.  I  am  not  going  to  tell  you  about 
Madrid,  because  you  can,  if  you  choose,  find  a  much  better 


A    DESPERATE    ADVENTURE  123 

description  of  it  in  books  than  I  can  give  you.  Please  send 
the  next  remittances,  which  will  probably  be  the  last,  to 
some  mercantile  house  here. 

"  You  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  though  I  failed  in  getting 
the  arrears  of  pay  for  the  Legion,  I  have  been  informed  that 
I  can  draw  monthly  for  the  pay  due  to  me  while  here.  As 
living  at  an  hotel  is  not  dear,  this  and  my  allowance  will 
suffice  very  well  for  my  requirements.  I  have  seen  Colonel 
Wylde,  the  British  commissioner,  who  is  a  very  charming 
man.  Of  course  he  has  been  doing  the  very  best  he  can  for 
the  Legion,  but  he  is  very  frequently  away  with  the  army. 
I  will  explain  how  it  is  that  I  am  in  charge  here  on  a  mis- 
sion of  real  importance.  Major  Hawkins,  who  was  chief  of 
the  mission,  was  killed  in  a  skirmish  with  the  Carlists  that 
we  had  on  our  way  down.  He  was  a  very  nice  fellow,  and  I 
was  very  sorry  at  his  death.  I  don't,  of  course,  know  yet 
whether  they  will  send  another  field-officer  to  take  his  place 
or  leave  me  in  charge.  I  rather  hope  they  won't  send  one. 
I  don't  think  they  would  be  wrong  to  leave  it  to  me,  for 
cheek  is  very  useful  in  this  sort  of  work,  and  I  flatter  my-i 
self  that  I  shall  stir  them  up  a  good  deal — more  than  an  • 
older  man  would  be  likely  to  do.  Certainly  I  shall  not  be 
inclined  to  take  ( No '  for  an  answer.  I  will  write  shortly 
again.  "With  love  to  you  all, 

"  Your  affectionate  Nephew." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

A    DESPERATE    ADVENTURE 

AS   Roper's   desire   to  stay  with  Arthur   remained  un- 
changed, the  latter  gladly  accepted  his  offer.     One  of 
the  horses  was  at  once  sold,  and  they  removed  into  smaller 
lodgings,  consisting  only  of  a  tiny  kitchen,  one  sitting-room 


124  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

with  a  fold-up  bed  in  a  corner,  and  a  closet  just  large  enough 
to  hold  a  bed  for  Roper.     Arthur  was  obliged  to  buy  a  suit 
of  dress  clothes,  some  white  shirts,  and  two  suits  of  ordinary 
\  clothes.     They  lived  on  terms  of  perfect  equality  when  in- 
1  doors,  except  that  Roper  carried  out  their  simple  cooking 
)at  breakfast  and  supper,  while  in  the  middle  of  the  day  they 
went  to  a  quiet  trattoria  in  the  suburbs;  and  after  a  week's 
experience  Arthur  found  to  his  satisfaction  that,  even  with 
the  hire  of  stables  and  the  horse's  forage,  they  were  living 
well  within  his  income. 

There  was,  of  course,  some  surprise  among  his  acquaint- 
ances at  the  substitution  of  civilian  clothes  for  his  uniform. 
It  made  no  difference,  however,  in  the  cordiality  of  his  re- 
ception, for  he  had  become  by  this  time  a  popular  character, 
especially  with  the  ladies,  who  appreciated  his  frank  boyish- 
ness and  freedom  from  formality,  so  unusual  among  their 
own  people. 

Colonel  Wylde  had  taken  a  great  fancy  to  the  lad,  and 
said  to  him  one  day :  "  I  have  been  thinking  over  your  case, 
Hallett.  Of  course  I  was  not  empowered  to  offer  you  any 
specific  position,  but  I  am  permitted  to  despatch  messengers 
to  any  point  where  I  may  be  unable  to  go  myself.  I  wrote 
a  month  since  to  say  that  operations  were  being  carried  on 
over  so  wide  a  field  that  I  found  it  impossible  to  give  atten- 
tion to  all  points.  I  stated  that  an  English  ofiicer  named 
Captain  Hallett  had  come  down  here  as  General  Evans's 
agent.  You  were  now  unemployed,  and  would,  I  was  con- 
vinced, prove  a  valuable  assistant ;  and  I  asked  that  I  might 
be  permitted  to  appoint  you  as  my  aide,  with  the  same  rank 
as  that  which  you  held  under  General  Evans  in  the  Legion. 
I  said  that  you  were  well  mounted,  and  that  the  expense 
would  be  so  very  slight  that  I  strongly  recommended  your 
appointment,  as  I  was  sure  you  would  gladly  act  under  me 
without  any  extra  appointments  except  the  pay  of  your  rank 
and  forage  allowance  for  your  horses,  and  the  other  usual 
field  allowances,  which  will  altogether  make  your  pay  about 


A    DESPERATE    ADVENTURE  125 

one  pound  a  day.  I  have  to-day  received  a  reply  authorizing 
your  appointment  with  the  rank  of  a  captain  in  the  army." 

"  I  am  indeed  obliged  to  you,  colonel !  "  Arthur  exclaimed 
in  delight.  "  I  would  most  gladly  have  placed  myself  under 
your  orders  even  without  the  pay,  though  I  do  not  say  that 
that  will  not  be  acceptable.  But  I  could  not  get  work  that 
I  should  like  better.  I  cannot  tell  you  how  much  I  am 
obliged  to  you." 

"I  feel  that  I  spoke  for  myself  as  well  as  for  you,  Cap- 
tain Hallett.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  keep  my  eyes  every- 
where, and  you  will,  in  fact,  double  my  utility.  There  are 
only  two  other  commissioners  out  here,  a  number  altogether 
insufficient  to  cope  with  all  that  is  going  on.  Indeed,  very 
many  regrettable  things  occur  owing  to  a  want  of  super- 
vision. When  one  or  other  of  us  happens  to  be  present,  we 
can  insist  upon  the  articles  of  the  Convention  we  brought 
about  between  the  parties  being  observed ;  but  if  we  are  not 
there,  a  great  deal  of  shooting  in  cold  blood  still  takes  place. 
You  will,  of  course,  have  to  provide  yourself  with  an  undress 
staff  uniform.  You  can  send  a  tailor  here  to  see  mine.  It 
would  not  do  for  you  to  use  your  own;  that  is  known  to  be 
a  Christine  one ;  and  as  you  may  have  to  go  into  the  enemy's 
lines,  you  must  therefore  be  easily  recognized  as  one  of  us. 
You  had  better  get  high  boots  and  breeches,  and,  of  course, 
a  cocked  hat.  These  will  not  cost  you  anything  like  so  much 
as  they  would  at  home ;  people  work  much  more  cheaply  here., 
By  the  way,  I  have  larger  stables  than  I  require,  so  you  may 
as  well  keep  your  horses  there." 

"I  suppose  I  may  put  my  man  into  uniform  too,  sir;  it  is 
more  convenient,  and  would  look  better." 

"Yes,  I  think  so.  My  own  two  orderlies  belong  to  the 
13th  Dragoons;  if  you  like,  I  will  accept  him  as  a  recruit 
in  that  corps  and  put  him  on  the  pay-sheet;  but  you  must 
get  his  uniform." 

With  renewed  thanks  Arthur  took  his  leave  and  hurried 
back  to  his  rooms. 


126  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

"  I  have  great  news,  Roper,"  he  said.  "  Colonel  Wylde  has 
obtained  permission  for  me  to  act  as  his  assistant,  and  you 
are  to  enlist  in  the  13th  Dragoon  Guards  so  as  to  ride  with 

I  me  in  uniform.  So  we  can  shift  out  of  these  little  lodg- 
ings again,  and  needn't  look  upon  every  penny  before  we 
spend  it." 

"  That  is  good  news  indeed !  "  Roper  exclaimed.  "  And 
I  shall  be  more  useful  to  you  now,  for  during  the  past  four 
months  I  have  learned  to  talk  Spanish  quite  well,  from  hav- 
ing been  so  much  in  the  barracks  with  the  soldiers." 

"  Well,  in  the  first  place  we  have  to  be  measured  for  our 
uniforms,  and  we  are  to  send  the  tailor  to  Colonel  Wylde  to 
see  the  patterns.  Then  we  will  look  out  for  lodgings.  The 
two  horses  are  to  be  taken  to  the  colonel's  stables,  so  that  we 
shall  save  that  expense.  The  whole  thing  is  entirely  his  do- 
ing, and  I  am  tremendously  obliged  to  him." 

Three  days  later  the  arrangements  were  completed;  com- 
fortable lodgings  were  taken,  and  they  had  shifted  into  them. 
The  uniforms  had  come  home  and  been  found  satisfactory, 
and  Arthur  had  reported  himself  as  ready  for  service. 

"I  shall  be  going  up  to  the  north  again  myself,"  the 
colonel  said.  "  When  I  do  so,  you  had  better  start  out  for 
the  east.  The  war  is  being  conducted  with  great  ferocity 
there,  and  it  is  much  to  be  desired  that  the  Conventions 
agreed  to  last  year  shall  be  enforced,  or  at  any  rate,  that  an 
effort  should  be  made  to  enforce  them.  Cabrera  is  a  brave 
and  skilful  commander,  but  his  cruelties  are  abominable. 
He  was  always  cruel;  but  the  atrocious  action  of  Nogueras, 
in  causing  his  mother  to  be  seized  and  shot,  has  closed  his 
heart  to  all  feeling  of  mercy.  He  shoots  women  who  fall 
into  his  hands  as  well  as  men;  and  on  one  occasion  he  shot 
no  fewer  than  eighty-five  sergeants  in  cold  blood.  I  fear 
greatly  that  no  remonstrances  would  be  of  any  avail  with 
a  man  who  seems  to  revel  in  bloodshed.  I  do  not  say  that 
he  has  not  had  terrible  provocation;  and  if  he  were  to  get 
hold  of  Nogueras,  I  should  not  blame  him  if  he  cut  him  into 


A    DESPERATE    ADVENTURE  127 

small  pieces.  I  do  not  think,  therefore,  that  it  will  be  of  any 
use  your  trying  to  influence  him.  You  may,  however,  at- 
tempt to  persuade  the  various  Christino  chiefs  in  Aragon 
and  Valencia.  I  know  that  their  position  is  difficult.  They 
are  urged  by  the  friends  and  relatives  of  the  men  murdered 
by  the  Carlists  to  make  terrible  reprisals  when  they  get  the 
opportunity,  and  in  consequence  the  war  is  becoming  one  of  / 
extermination.  I  have  no  hope  that  you  will  be  able  to  do 
much,  but  you  can  at  least  try.  I  shall  be  glad  to  be  able*, 
to  report,  even  in  one  or  two  instances,  that  efforts  have  been 
made  by  the  Christines  to  mitigate  the  horrors  of  the 
struggle." 

The  next  day  Arthur  again  wrote  home. 

"  My  dear  TJncle, 

"  I  have  a  wonderfully  good  piece  of  news  to  - 
give  you.  I  told  you  in  my  last  letter  that,  now  the  Legion 
was  disbanded,  I  intended  to  stay  here  for  a  time  on  my 
allowance  and  savings.  Now  all  this  is  changed,  for  Colonel 
Wylde  has  obtained  for  me  the  appointment  of  Assistant 
British  Commissioner,  with  the  temporary  rank  of  captain 
in  Her  Majesty's  service.  Isn't  that  splendid?  There  is  ex- 
cellent pay  and  allowances,  so  I  shall  be  able  to  live  like  a 
fighting-cock.  This  will  be  my  head-quarters,  but  I  shall 
generally  be  with  one  or  other  of  the  armies  in  the  field ;  and  , 
tit  will  be,  I  know,  a  satisfaction  to  you  all  that  I  shall  not  x 
pe  called  upon  to  take  any  part  in  the  fighting,  but  shall 
(be  merely  a  spectator  of  the  fray.  Now,  even  you  will  think 
that  I  am  not  doing  wrong  in  staying  in  Spain.  I  am  very 
much  at  home  here,  and  have  many  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances, for  you  know  by  this  time  I  speak  Spanish  really  like 
a  native. 

"  The  family  I  am  most  intimate  with  is  that  of  Count] 
Leon  de  Balen.  He  is  a  young  man  of  about  five-and- 
twenty,  with  three  young  sisters,  the  eldest  of  whom  is  about 
the  age  of  sixteen,  Leon  has  been  in  England  and  speaks 


128  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION" 


English  fairly,  and  is  very  English  in  his  ways,  and  doesn't 
keep  his  sisters  bottled  up,  as  most  of  these  Spaniards  do; 
and  I  visit  there  just  as  I  should  at  any  English  house  where 
I  was  intimate.  Roper  is  of  course  with  me.  He  has  been 
nominally  enlisted  in  an  English  dragoon  regiment,  and 
wears  the  uniform.  I  am  having  an  English  staff  uniform 
made  for  me,  and  were  you  here  you  would  see  me  swagger- 
ing down  the  streets  as  if  they  belonged  to  me;  I  really  feel 
''ds""if  I  were  somebody.  I  hope  to  hear  that  you  are  all 
pleased,  and  that  even  you  agree  that  I  could  not  possibly 
do  better  for  myself  than  remain  here  till  the  end  of  the  war. 
How  long  that  will  be,  goodness  only  knows!  I  shall  be  in 
no  hurry,  for  it  is  just  the  life,  of  all  others,  to  suit  me. 
Love  to  all. 

"Your  affectionate  Nephew." 

In  due  time  the  answer  arrived : 

"My  dear  Arthur, 

"We  are  all  delighted  at  the  receipt  of  your 
letter.  We  should,  of  course,  be  extremely  glad  to  have  you 
back  with  us,  but  at  the  same  time  we  cannot  but  recognize 
that  you  could  not  do  better  for  yourself  than  you  are  doing. 
I  do  not  know  that  personally  I  am  extraordinarily  gratified 
that  you  should  be  holding  a  commission  as  captain  in  Her 
Majesty's  service,  and  as  Assistant  British  Commissioner  in 
Spain;  but  I  am  bound  to  say  that  your  aunt  and  cousins 

I  seem  to  be  filled  with  an  altogether  excessive  pride  in  the 
position  you  have  gained.  The  girls  have  been  going  about 
among  their  friends  crowing  like  little  gamecocks,  and  even 
your  aunt,  ordinarily  a  tranquil  and  quietly  disposed  woman, 
appears  to  be  quite  puffed  up. 

"  However,  joking  aside,  we  are  all  highly  gratified — I  cer- 
tainly admit  that  I  myself  am  highly  gratified  too — and  feel 
that  you  could  not  do  better  for  yourself  than  remain  for 
three  or  four  years,  by  which  time,  I  hope,  the  war  will  be 


A    DESPERATE    ADVENTURE  129 

finished.  You  will,  as  you  say,  see  what  is  going  on  without 
running  any  serious  risks ;  and  when  you  are  in  Madrid  I  can 
quite  imagine  that,  with  your  official  position,  you  will  lead 
a  very  pleasant  life.  I  almost  feel,  Arthur,  that  you  are  get-  / 
ting  altogether  beyond  advice,  and  are  now  able  to  go  on  your/ 
own  way.  I  can  only  say,  therefore,  that  we  shall  be  all  very) 
glad  to  have  you  back  again  with  us,  and  I  hope  that  every) 
trace  of  the  unpleasantness  which  necessarily  resulted  from 
our  last  interview  will  be  altogether  forgotten. 

"  Your  affectionate  Uncle." 

That  evening  Arthur  called  at  the  house  of  the  young 
Count  Leon  de  Balen.    It  was  one  of  the  houses  at  which 
he  had  become  most  intimate.     The  count  had  little  of  the  i 
reserve  and  hauteur  common  to  most  Spanish,  nobles.    He  / 
had  from  the  first  taken  a  great  fancy  to  Arthur,  and  had 
made  the  latter  at  all  times  welcome  to  his  house.    It  had 
been  one  of  the  first  to  which  he  had  been  invited  after  his 
arrival  at  Madrid,  and  was  one  of  the  few  which  were  always 
open  to  him. 

"  I  have  been  taken  to  task  several  times,"  the  young  man 
said  one  day  with  a  laugh,  "  for  inviting  a  man,  and  that 
man  a  foreigner  and  a  heretic,  so  familiarly  to  my  house.  , 
Two  years  ago  I  was  for  a  few  months  with  our  embassy  in  / 
London,  and  I  came  to  like  your  ways  very  much.    It  was  f 
very  pleasant  to  be  able  to  make  calls  at  houses  without  cere- 
mony, and  I  made  many  friends.     It  seemed  to  me  in  all 
respects  better,  for  young  people  get  to  know  each  other  and 
to  like  each  other.     Young  men  and  young  women  in  your 
country  meet  and  talk  and  dance  together,  and  are  good( 
friends,  without  thinking  of  marriage;  whereas  here  girls 
are  for  the  most  part  shut  up  until  a  marriage  is  arranged 
for  them.     Of  course  I  hold,  as  other  people  do,  that  young 
ladies  should  not  go  out  alone,  and  should  always  be  accom- 
panied by  a  duenna ;  but  in  their  own  house,  and  under  their 
parents'  eyes,  I  can  see  no  occasion  for  strictness.    I  might 


130  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

have  some  hesitation  in  giving  a  young  Spaniard  a  general 
invitation  to  my  house,  because  he  would  not  understand  it, 
and  would  think  that  I  wished  to  introduce  him  as  a  suitor 
to  one  of  my  sisters;  but  with  an  Englishman  it  is  different. 
You  laugh  and  talk  with  them  as  if  they  were  your  own,  and 
I  think  it  is  very  good  for  them,  and  that  they  are  as  pleased 
to  see  you  as  I  am." 

When,  therefore,  Arthur  had  no  other  engagement  he  very 
often  went  in  for  a  chat  in  the  evening  to  the  young  count's, 
and  he  was  naturally  one  of  the  first  he  told  of  his  new  ap- 
pointment. 

"  I  congratulate  you  most  heartily,"  Leon  said.  "  I  have 
been  wondering,  since  I  heard  that  your  Legion  had  been 
disbanded,  what  you  were  going  to  do.  I  am  leaving,  as  I 
told  you,  for  one  of  my  country  estates  near  Albacete,  with 
Mercedes,  and  shall  be  away  about  a  couple  of  months.  If 
you  chance  to  be  coming  that  way,  I  need  not  say  how  glad 
I  shall  be  to  see  you.  Of  course  you  don't  know  yet  where 
you  are  likely  to  go,  but  it  may  as  well  be  there  as  in  any 
other  direction.  Perhaps  you  will  be  back  as  soon  as  we 
shall?  I  hope  so  sincerely." 

On  the  day  when  Colonel  Wylde  left  for  the  north,  Arthur 
started  for  Mercia.  When  out  of  the  town  he  called  Roper 
up  to  his  side. 

"  I  am  heartily  glad  to  be  at  work  again,  Roper." 

"  I  am  not  sorry  myself,  sir.  I  have  nothing  to  say  against 
Madrid,  but  one  gets  tired  of  having  nothing  particular  to 
do,  and  especially  as  for  the  past  three  or  four  days,  since  I 
vhave  been  in  this  scarlet  uniform,  everyone  has  stared  at  me 
in  the  street.  I  shall  get  used  to  it  in  time,  of  course,  but  it 
is  rather  trying  at  first." 

"  I  dare  say  it  is,"  Arthur  laughed.  "  Of  course,  I  don't 
feel  it  so  much.  There  is  not  so  much  difference  between 
officers'  uniforms  as  between  those  of  private  soldiers,  at  any 
rate  not  between  undress  uniforms.  I  am  a  good  deal  more 
comfortable  in  my  present  dress  than  I  was  before,  for  I 


Jr 

i^wo 

A    DESPEKATE    ADVENTUKE  131 


i 


could  not  but  see  myself  that  it  was  getting  very  small,  and 

had  almost  given  up  wearing  it." 

"  Yes,  you  keep  on  growing  so.    You  were  a  good  bit  taller 
than  I  was  when  you  joined  the  Legion  two  years  ago,  and 
now  .you  are  pretty  nearly  a  head  taller.    You  must  be  over/ 
six  feet  now,  and  I  see  these  little  Spaniards  look  up  to  you! 
as  you  walk  along." 

"  Yes,  I  have  been  rather  disgusted  at  shooting  up  so.  I 
don't  suppose  other  people  notice  it;  but  as  I  was  wanting 
to  look  six  or  seven  years  older  than  I  am,  it  was  annoying 
that  I  should  keep  on  growing.  Well,  I  think  I  have  pretty 
nearly  done  now." 

They  travelled  by  comfortable  stages  down  to  Mercia. 
Arthur  had  several  interviews  with  the  general  in  command 
of  the  forces  there,  and  received  assurances  from  him  that 
every  care  should  be  used  to  mitigate  the  horrors  of  the  war, 
but  that  such  a  passion  of  rage  had  been  excited  by  the 
massacres  perpetrated  by  Cabrera  that  it  was  all  but  impos- 
sible to  keep  the  people  in  hand. 

"  It  is  to  Cabrera  himself  that  you  should  address  yourself, 
senor,"  the  general  said.  "  We  are  anxious  to  prosecute  the 
war  in  the  spirit  of  civilization,  but  as  long  as  he  persists  in 
carrying  it  on  like  a  demon  it  is  plainly  impossible  for  us  to 
fight  in  kid  gloves." 

"I  will  go  to  Cabrera,"  Arthur  said;  "even  he  ought  to 
have  satisfied  his  vengeance  for  the  murder  of  his  mother. 
Were  I  in  his  place  I  would  hunt  Nogueras  through  the 
country  until  I  found  him,  but  it  is  simply  monstrous  that 
he  should  continue  to  take  vengeance  upon  innocent  people." 

After  remaining  four  days  at  Mercia,  Arthur  therefore 
turned  his  horse's  head  north.  When  he  neared  Albacete  he 
heard  that  Cabrera  had  been  making  a  raid  from  the  Sierra 
de  Val  de  Meca,  and  had  swept  down  nearly  to  the  city, 
harassing  the  country  and  carrying  off  much  booty.  Arthur 
was  told  that  Cabrera  had  attacked  and  taken  the  Palazzo  of 
the  Count  de  Balen,  so  half  an  hour  after  entering  the  town 


132  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION" 

he  rode  out  to  enquire  after  his  friend.  As  they  approached 
the  house  they  saw  smoke  still  rising  from  it.  Putting  their 
horses  to  a  gallop  they  speedily  arrived  in  front  of  the  house, 
only,  however,  to  find  that  it  was  a  mere  shell.  As  Arthur 
alighted  a  man,  whom  he  knew  by  sight,  came  out  from  a 
small  outhouse. 

"What  has  happened?  Are  the  count  and  his  sister 
safe?" 

"Alas!  no,  sir,"  the  man  said.  "The  Carlists  burst  into 
the  house  yesterday  morning.  The  count  opposed  them  and 
was  struck  down  desperately  wounded.  Donna  Mercedes  was 
carried  off  by  them.  They  sacked  the  palace  and  then  set  it 
on  fire.  Three  or  four  of  the  men  were  killed.  I  was  away 
at  Albacete.  I  found  that  some  of  the  women  had  carried 
the  young  count  out  behind  the  house.  He  is  in  here." 

Arthur  hurried  in. 

"My  dear  Leon,"  he  said,  "this  is  terrible  news  that  I 
hear!" 

"  Terrible,"  the  other  said  faintly.  "  I  am  wounded  bad- 
ly, but  that  is  nothing  except  that  it  will  keep  me  a  month 
before  I  am  fit  to  act ;  but  it  is  awful  to  think  that  Mercedes 
has  fallen  into  the  hands  of  that  ruffian  Cabrera.  Thank 
God  you  have  come!  I  know  you  will  do  all  you  can  for 
me." 

"  Assuredly  I  will.  In  the  first  place,  do  you  know  which 
way  the  villains  have  gone  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  they  have  gone  up  by  La  Roda.  They  will  doubt- 
less sack  that  place,  and  Minaya,  and  Villar  Robledo." 

"Have  you  fresh  horses?" 

"No;  they  have  driven  every  horse  off." 

"  That  is  unfortunate,  for  I  made  a  good  long  journey  to 
Albacete.  When  I  arrived  I  heard  a  rumour  that  your 
place  had  been  sacked,  so  I  rode  straight  here.  At  any  rate 
I  must  give  the  horses  four  hours'  rest,  and  then  I  will  push 
on.  Tell  me  how  it  all  happened  ?  " 

"  I  was  at  breakfast  yesterday  when  the  servants  came  run- 


A    DESPERATE    ADVENTURE  133 

ning  in  with  the  news  that  a  large  body  of  horsemen  were 
coming  up  at  a  gallop.  I  ran  down  with  Mercedes,  but  it 
was  already  too  late  to  get  to  our  horses.  They  rode  up, 
and  their  leader,  who  was,  I  believe,  Cabrera,  ordered  the  men  -.^  ^ 
to  seize  my  sister.  I  drew  my  sword,  but  I  was  cut  down 
almost  before  I  had  struck  a  blow.  I  knew  nothing  more 
until  some  hours  later,  when  I  found  myself  lying  here, 
where,  it  seems,  the  female  servants  had  brought  me,  and 
saw  that  the  house  was  on  fire  from  end  to  end,  and  that  the 
Carlists  had  gone  and  taken  Mercedes  with  them.  I  think 
I  was  nearly  out  of  my  mind  till  nightfall,  then  I  slept  for 
some  hours,  overpowered  by  exhaustion.  I  found  when  I 
awoke  that  Monte  had  returned  in  the  evening  and  had  been 
sitting  by  me  all  night.  I  sent  him  off  at  once  to  Albacete. 
He  returned  at  mid-day  with  a  message  from  the  command- 
ant there  to  the  effect  that  Cabrera's  force  was  too  strong  to 
be  attacked,  and  that  he  expected  to  have  to  defend  himself. 
I  cannot  say  that  I  was  surprised.  Cabrera  is  so  dreaded 
that  it  requires  a  strong  man  to  attempt  to  make  head  against 
him,  and  indeed  when  I  once  got  over  my  fury  I  recognized 
that  as  Cabrera  might  be  fifty  miles  away  by  the  time  my 
messenger  got  to  Albacete  it  would  be  hopeless  to  attempt 
to  pursue  him." 

"I  will  set  out  as  soon  as  the  horses  have  had  a  rest. 
Fortunately,  I  have  not  been  hurrying  myself  so  far,  and 
they  are  both  in  good  condition.  I  will  see  Cabrera  him- 
self, and  will  do  all  in  my  power  to  rescue  your  sister." 

"  I  fear  your  journey  will  be  useless,  Hallett.  The  wretch 
has  become  a  wild  beast  since  the  murder  of  his  mother ;  but 
I  know  you  will  do  all  you  can.  If  I  were  but  able  to  travel 
I  would  go  with  you  and  would  stab  him  to  the  heart  if  he 
refused  to  release  her,  but  it  will  be  long  before  I  shall  be 
able  to  sit  on  a  horse  again." 

"I  should  think  the  best  thing  you  can  do,  Leon,  is  to 
have  yourself  carried  on  a  litter  to  Albacete,  where  your 
wounds  can  be  properly  seen  to." 


134  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

"  So  far  I  have  no  one  but  these  women  to  carry  me. 
They  tell  me  that  the  whole  of  the  men  were  driven  off  the 
estate  and  made  to  enter  Cabrera's  ranks." 

"Well,  he  did  not  go  much  farther  than  this,  and  there 
must  be  men  to  be  had  from  some  of  the  villages  a  few  miles 
away.  I  will  send  your  man  off  at  once  to  get  half  a  dozen 
of  them  to  carry  you." 

"  You  must  want  something  to  eat,  too.  Will  you  call  one 
of  the  women  in  here  ?  What  have  we  to  eat  ? " 

"  We  have  got  some  green  corn,  senor — some  of  the  fields 
set  on  fire  were  too  green  to  burn — and  we  caught  some 
chickens  wandering  about." 

"  Then  cook  some  for  the  senor  and  his  servant." 

Leon  now  lay  for  some  time  without  speaking.  He  had 
lost  a  great  deal  of  blood,  after  the  departure  of  the  Car- 
lists,  before  the  women  ventured  to  go  near  him,  and  al- 
though he  had  roused  himself  on  Arthur's  arrival  he  was 
now  too  exhausted  to  talk  further.  After  a  stay  of  four 
hours  Arthur  started  again.  It  was  already  dark,  and  he 
would  have  preferred  waiting  till  daylight  had  not  the 
count's  anxiety  been  so  great  that  he  thought  it  would  be 
better  to  go,  at  any  rate  for  a  few  miles.  After  travelling 
for  two  hours  they  arrived  at  a  farm.  An  old  woman  was 
the  only  occupant;  as  the  men  had  gone  willingly  enough 
with  the  Carlists,  the  house  and  its  belongings  had  not  been 
interfered  with.  The  horses  were  put  up  in  a  shed,  and  the 
two  men  sat  down  by  the  fire  talking. 

"I  have  very  little  hope  of  getting  Donna  Mercedes  out 
of  Cabrera's  hands  by  fair  means;  it  is  like  asking  a  tiger 
to  give  up  a  kid.  My  great  hope,  Roper,  lies  rather  in  res- 
cuing her  myself.  Of  course,  I  do  not  know  where  she  is 
confined,  or  how  she  is  guarded.  It  is  not  likely  that  they 
would  place  a  very  strong  guard  over  her.  You  and  I  to- 
gether ought  to  be  able  to  get  her  away.  Of  course,  I  can 
form  no  plans  until  we  see  the  place.  There  will  be  risk  in 
the  business ;  that  can't  be  helped.  I  have  got  in  and  out  of 


A    DESPEKATE    ADVENTURE  135 

my  bedroom  at  school  many  a  time,  and  can  back  myself  to 
climb  anywhere.  It  will  be  your  business  to  bring  the  horses 
round  in  readiness  when  I  get  her  out.  If  you  can  possibly 
get  hold  of  a  third  animal  it  will  be  a  great  advantage,  for 
we  shall  have  to  reckon  upon  being  pursued." 

"  I  am  ready  for  anything,  captain.  The  count  was  always 
very  civil  to  me  when  he  called  upon  you,  and  he  never  came 
without  making  me  a  present.  No  doubt  he  knew  by  our 
lodging  that  things  were  not  very  flourishing  with  you.  It 
is  just  the  sort  of  business  I  should  like.  We  have  done  no 
fighting  for  the  past  nine  months,  and  I  shall  be  right  glad 
of  a  skirmish." 

"  I  expect  it  will  be  something  worse  than  a  skirmish.  If 
this  brute  Cabrera  won't  give  the  young  lady  up,  it  will  be 
a  serious  job  to  take  her,  even  if  you  can  get  another  horse; 
for  good  as  ours  may  be,  it  is  probable  that  there  are  better 
ones  in  his  camp.  However,  it  is  all  so  vague  at  present 
that  it  is  useless  to  try  and  form  plans.  'One  thing,  I  am 
sure,  we  can  say :  fewer  than  six  won't  take  her  from  us  once  j 
we  have  got  her.  We  must  not  deceive  ourselves  that  they ) 
will  respect  our  uniform.  Cabrera  respects  nothing.  And 
if  we  stand  between  him  and  his  vengeance  we  need  not 
flatter  ourselves  that  he  will  let  us  go." 

"  Well,  sir,  a  man  can't  die  better  than  in  trying  to  save 
a  woman;  that  is  how  I  look  at  it." 

"  Quite  right,  Roper ;  it  is  the  death  of  all  others  that  I 
would  choose.  However,  I  have  faith  in  ourselves,  and  I 
fancy  that  we  shall  get  through  somehow,  though  I  am  pretty 
sure  that  it  will  be  a  very  close  shave.  I  think  we  had  better 
lie  down  till  daybreak.  You  have  given  the  horses  a  good 
feed,  have  you  not  ? " 

"Yes,  sir;  I  have  put  down  half  a  sack  of  beans  between 
them.  They  will  be  fresh  enough  in  the  morning;  till  yes- 
terday we  have  not  travelled  more  than  fifteen  or  sixteen 
miles  a  day,  and  they  had  a  week's  rest  at  Mercia.  They 
could  not  be  in  better  condition." 


136  WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION" 

They  started  as  soon  as  it  began  to  be  light,  and  on  reach- 
ing La  Koda  heard  that  Cabrera  had  rested  there  on  the  pre- 
vious day,  and  had  gone  on  that  morning  to  Banada  and 
Villar  de  Navado.  On  arriving  at  Banada  they  found  that 
Cabrera  had  ridden  on  half  an  hour  before  to  Villar  de 
Navado.  This  place  they  reached  at  eleven  o'clock.  The 
place  was  full  of  Carlists.  Arthur  alighted  in  front  of  the 
principal  house.  He  was  looked  at  scowlingly  by  the  men 
thronging  the  streets,  but  nothing  was  said  to  him. 

"  I  wish  to  see  General  Cabrera,"  he  said.  "  Will  you  say 
that  I  am  one  of  the  British  commissioners  ? " 

After  being  kept  waiting  for  two  or  three  minutes  he  was 
asked  in.  Cabrera  was  a  powerful  man  with  a  face  full  of 
strength  and  energy. 

"To  what  am  I  indebted  for  this  visit,  senor?"  he  asked 
as  Arthur  entered. 

"I  have  called,  sir,  to  implore  you  to  respect  the  Con- 
ventions entered  into  between  both  parties  and  signed  by 
them,  and  on  the  part  of  the  British  government  by  Colonels 
Wylde  and  Lacy." 

"I  have  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  it,"  Cabrera  said. 
"  The  Christines  have  committed  great  atrocities ;  it  is  my 
intention  to  revenge  them  whenever  possible." 

"  But  at  least,  sir,"  Arthur  said,  "  you  do  not  war  against 
women  ? " 

"I  war  against  my  enemies,  men  and  women.  My  own 
mother  was  murdered  by  them,  as  no  doubt  you  are  aware, 
and  for  each  drop  of  her  blood  I  shall  take  vengeance." 

"But,  sir,  the  lady  whom  you  carried  off  the  day  before 
yesterday  was  not  the  wife  of  a  Christine  general,  nor  in  any 
way  connected  with  the  war." 

"Her  brother  was  a  well-known  Christino,"  Cabrera  re- 
plied, "  and  all  the  enemies  of  Don  Carlos  are  my  enemies. 
It  is  well  that  these  young  nobles  at  the  court  should  learn 
that  by  supporting  the  government  against  the  king  they  are 
as  much  our  foes  as  if  they  were  fighting  in  the  field.  I  make 


A    DESPEKATE    ADVENTUKE  137 

war  in  my  own  way;  other  generals  may  do  as  they  like.  I 
refuse  to  have  my  hands  tied,  and  I  intend  to  inflict  a  heavy 
lesson  upon  these  politicians  of  Madrid.  Against  the  young 
woman  herself  I  have  no  special  quarrel,  but  as  a  member  of 
a  leading  Christine  family  she  is  an  enemy,  and  as  such  she 
will  be  shot  to-morrow  morning.  There,  sir,  it  is  useless  to 
talk  further.  My  mind  is  perfectly  made  up;  and  if  you 
wish  to  remain  till  the  morning  to  witness  the  execution, 
you  are  perfectly  at  liberty  to  do  so.  In  fact,  I  should  pre- 
fer it,  for  I  wish  it  to  be  known  that  prisoners  who  fall  into 
my  hands  will  be  shown  no  mercy." 

Arthur  rose.  "  Well,  sir,  in  taking  my  leave  of  you,  I  beg 
in  the  name  of  my  government  to  warn  you  of  the  conse- 
quences of  making  war  in  defiance  not  only  of  all  its  rules 
and  usages,  but  of  humanity." 

Cabrera  simply  waved  his  hand  in  scorn,  and  Arthur,  turn- 
ing, strode  out  of  the  room. 

"Find  some  place  in  the  outskirts  of  the  village  and  put 
up  our  horses,"  he  said  to  Koper;  "there  I  will  talk  with 
you." 

A  hut,  from  which  its  inhabitants  had  fled  on  the  approach 
of  the  Carlists,  was  soon  found. 

"You  have  brought  a  good  allowance  of  beans  with  you, 
have  you  not  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir ;  I  have  nearly  half  a  sack." 

"  Give  the  horses  a  good  feed,  and  then  we  will  talk  matters 
over." 

He  sat  down  on  a  broken  chair.  "  As  I  expected,  Koper, 
the  villain  is  not  to  be  turned  from  his  purpose:  the  lady 
is  to  be  shot  to-morrow  morning.  It  seems  to  me  that  there 
are  between  three  and  four  thousand  men  in  and  around  the 
village.  Of  these,  as  far  as  I  could  see  as  we  rode  in,  only 
a  hundred  or  so  are  mounted.  We  may  take  it  that  our 
horses  are  better  than  the  average ;  they  have  not  been  doing 
such  long  marches,  and  they  are  really  good  animals.  I  don't 
know  which  is  the  best;  but  I  should  fancy  that  if  we  get 


138  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION" 

a  fair  start  not  above  thirty  -will  keep  up  with  us,  perhaps 
not  above  twenty.  That  is  the  number  we  may  have  to 
cope  with.  The  first  thing  we  shall  have  to  find  out  is  where 
Donna  Mercedes  is  confined,  and  how  she  is  guarded.  It  is 
unlikely  that  they  will  have  placed  more  than  two  or  three 
sentries  over  her;  they  would  know  well  enough  that  she 
could  not  escape  by  herself. 

"I  should  say  that  there  will  be  one  sentry  outside  the 
door,  and  perhaps  two  inside.  If  there  is  a  door  or  a  win- 
dow at  the  back  of  the  house,  we  need  not  bother  about  the 
man  in  front.  I  must  do  for  the  two  men  inside.  You  bring 
the  two  horses  round  within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  back  of 
the  house,  and  we  will  drop  out  of  the  window,  if  there  is 
one,  or  walk  out  of  the  door.  First  of  all,  we  must  find  out 
the  house;  then  it  will  be  your  business  to  stroll  round  and 
choose  a  horse  in  such  a  position  that  you  can  lead  it  off 
without  disturbing  others.  You  must  get  it  behind  the  side 
of  the  street  on  which  our  house  stands,  so  that  you  will  not 
have  to  lead  it  across  the  street,  but  simply  bring  it  and  place 
it  with  ours." 

"  All  right,  sir ;  I  think  I  can  answer  for  that  part  of  the 
business.  I  suppose  you  will  not  begin  until  half-past  ten 
or  eleven ;  they  will  be  pretty  nearly  all  asleep  by  that  time." 

"No,  I  shaVt  begin  before  that." 

They  waited  for  a  couple  of  hours,  and  then  strolled  out 
into  the  village.  The  Carlists,  knowing  that  they  had  had 
an  interview  with  their  chief,  paid  no  great  attention  to 
them,  and  presently  Arthur  seized  the  opportunity  of  asking 
a  woman  who  was  standing  at  her  door  which  was  the  priest's 
house. 

"  It  is  the  last  house  in  the  village  on  this  side  of  the  street, 
senor." 

Arthur  continued  his  stroll  to  the  end  of  the  village,  and 
then  turned  back  and  walked  to  the  other  end.  It  was  the 
heat  of  the  day  now,  and  most  of  the  men  were  lying  down 
asleep  in  the  shade  of  houses  and  trees,  and  there  were  b'it 


A    DESPERATE    ADVENTURE  139 

few  in  the  street.  Stopping  at  the  priest's  house,  he  knocked 
at  the  door  and  entered. 

"  I  am  an  English  officer,  father,"  he  said  to  the  priest, 
who  was  a  tall,  thin  old  man.  "  My  errand  here  is  to  save 
the  life  of  the  young  lady  who  has  been  carried  off  and 
brought  here,  and  whom  Cabrera  is  going  to  shoot  in  the 
morning." 

"  It  is  terrible,  senor ! "  the  priest  said ;  "  it  is  terrible ! 
but  what  can  we  do?  I  have  already  seen  this  man,  and 
warned  him  of  the  consequences  of  so  dreadful  an  action. 
He  told  me  to  mind  my  own  business  and  that  he  would 
mind  his,  and  I  was  thrust  bodily  out  of  the  house  protest- 
ing vainly." 

"Well,  father,  then  I  take  it  that  if  you  had  the  power 
you  would  have  the  will  to  save  this  poor  young  lady  ? " 

"Assuredly,  my  son;  but  I  am  old  and  feeble,  and  what 
can  I  do?" 

"You  can  do  much,  father.  I  wish  you  to  go  again  to 
Cabrera.  Say  that,  as  a  man  of  God,  it  is  your  duty  to  re- 
ceive this  young  lady's  confession,  and  to  stay  with  her, 
pray  with  her,  and  comfort  her  during  the  night,  and  de- 
mand that  he  give  you  an  order  to  do  so." 

"  He  cannot  refuse  such  a  request,"  the  priest  said.  "  The 
worst  malefactor  has  the  right  to  have  the  attendance  of  the 
clergy  before  his  death.  But  how  would  that  benefit  her 
save  by  my  spiritual  help  ? " 

"  You  will  have  no  more  to  do  with  it,  father.  You  will 
bring  me  the  order  here,  and  then  as  soon  as  it  gets  dark  I 
should  advise  you  to  leave  the  village  and  walk  some  twenty 
miles  away,  and  wait  until  Cabrera  has  left  the  neighbour- 
hood, which  he  doubless  will  do  to-morrow;  the  rest  of  the 
business  will  be  my  affair." 

"  But  do  you  mean "  the  priest  began. 

"  I  mean,  father,  that  after  it  is  dark  I  shall  put  on  your 
robe  and  hat,  if  you  will  lend  them  to  me.  I  shall  present 
myself  at  the  door  with  the  order,  and  when  I  am  admitted 


140  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

and  the  door  is  closed  again,  I  shall  proceed  to  knock  on  the 
head  any  men  who  are  inside.  I  don't  think  there  will  be 
more  than  two.  Having  done  that,  I  shall  go  to  the  young 
lady's  room  and  lower  her  down  through  the  window.  My 
man-servant  will  be  waiting  behind  with  horses,  and,  if  we 
are  lucky,  we  shall  get  a  long  start  of  them." 

"  I  will  do  it,"  the  priest  said ;  "  even  if  I  were  to  be  killed 
I  would  do  it.  Even  this  monster  cannot  refuse  to  allow  a 
priest  to  visit  one  about  to  die.  Possibly  he  might,  if  alone, 
but  the  very  peasants  under  him  would  call  out  at  his  re- 
fusal. Shall  I  go  at  once?" 

"  No ;  it  would  be  best  that  you  should  go  to'  him  just  as 
he  has  finished  his  dinner;  doubtless  six  or  eight  of  his  offi- 
cers will  be  with  him.  You  had  best  write  out  the  order 
before  you  go,  so  that  it  will  only  need  his  signature.  I 
rely  upon  your  eloquence  and  authority  to  induce  him  to 
grant  it  to  you." 

"  I  will  obtain  it,"  the  priest  said ;  "  even  the  worst  male- 
factor has  a  right  to  the  consolation  of  a  priest." 

"  Thank  you,  father.  You  will  have  the  satisfaction  of 
having  saved  an  innocent  girl's  life.  Now,  in  the  next  place, 
will  you  tell  me  in  which  house  she  is  confined  ?  I  have  not 
liked  to  ask  the  question." 

"  She  is  in  the  house  next  to  that  in  which  Cabrera  is 
quartered.  There  is  a  sentry  at  the  door." 

"What  sort  of  a  house  is  it?" 

"It  is  like  the  others,  except  that  the  lower  windows  are 
all  barred." 

"  Are  there  windows  behind  ?  " 

"Yes;  I  believe  there  are." 

"  Do  you  know  whether  there  is  a  sentry  behind  ? " 

The  priest  shook  his  head.     "I  do  not  know,  sir." 

"Well,  I  must  ascertain  that,"  Arthur  said.  "At  eight 
o'clock,  senor,  I  will  be  here,  and  you  shall  give  me  your  robe 
and  hat,  and  the  order.  Then  I  should  advise  you  to  leave 
at  once.  Do  you  know  which  way  they  are  going  to 
inarch?" 


A    DESPEBATE    ADVENTUKE 

"  They  are  going  east ;  they  will  take  refuge  again  in  the 
mountains." 

"In  that  case,  father,  you  will  not  have  to  walk  more 
than  eight  or  ten  miles,  and  can  take  shelter  in  the  nearest 
village.  Adieu!  Surely  you  will  never  regret  the  good 
action  you  are  doing." 

He  went  out  into  the  village  again,  and  meeting  Roper, 
said  to  him:  "You  see  that  house  next  to  the  one  where 
Cabrera  is  quartered?  In  that  house  Donna  Mercedes  is 
confined.  You  see,  there  is  a  sentry  at  the  door.  I  want 
you  to  stroll  round  carelessly  behind  that  side  of  the  village, 
and  ascertain  if  a  sentry  is  posted  there  also.  If  so,  I  shall 
have  to  leave  you  to  manage  him.  You  won't  be  able  to 
bring  up  the  horses  so  close  as  you  would  otherwise  do.  You 
must  leave  them  a  short  distance  away,  steal  up  to  that  fel- 
low, and  silence  him.  The  safest  way  will  be  to  stab  him  to  i 
the  heart.  It  is  unpleasant  to  be  compelled  to  take  such  a 
course,  but  extreme  measures  are  necessary;  for  if  he  had 
time  to  shout  we  should  have  the  whole  camp  on  us  in  five 
minutes." 

"  I  will  do  it,  sir.  I  would  rather  not,  but  I  see  it  has  to 
be  done." 

"  I  have  arranged  everything  else.  The  priest  is  going  to 
get  an  order  to  pass  the  night  praying  with  Donna  Mercedes. 
He  will  hand  it  to  me,  and  I  shall  enter  the  house  disguised 
in  his  robe  and  hat.  I  don't  know  how  many  men  there  will 
be  inside,  but  I  should  certainly  say  not  more  than  two. 
Those  two  I  have  got  to  silence.  I  hear  that  the  house  has 
bars  to  the  lower  windows,  but  the  upper  ones  will  not  be  so 
carefully  guarded,  and  I  shall  lower  the  lady  down  to  you. 
Just  before  half-past  ten  crawl  up  close  to  the  sentry,  and  as 
the  clock  chimes,  strike.  Then  go  back  and  bring  the 
horses  up  as  near  as  possible,  and  come  yourself  underneath 
the  window.  I  shall  go  in  as  the  clock  strikes,  and  shall  be 
ready  for  you  when  you  come  up.  I  think  we  ought  to  get 
away  before  an  alarm  is  given,  and  if  we  have  anything  like 


142  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

luck  we  shall  have  a  long  start.  It  would  be  well  if,  when 
you  are  going  round  now,  you  would  observe  closely  where 
the  men  are  bivouacked,  so  that  we  can,  if  possible,  get 
through  without  disturbing  them  in  any  way." 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE    ESCAPE 

AT  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  Roper  rejoined  Arthur 
in  the  hut. 

"  Well,  what  is  your  report  ?  " 

"  The  house  looks  all  right,  sir.  There  are  no  bars  on  the 
upper  windows.  There  is  a  sentry  sitting  down  against  the 
wall;  as  far  as  I  could  see,  he  was  asleep.  I  don't  think  it 
will  be  possible  to  get  the  horses  up  close;  but  as  each  man 
seems  to  sleep  just  where  it  suits  him,  I  think  it  would  be 
easier  for  us  to  make  our  way  through  them  on  foot  than 
to  get  the  horses  through.  I  don't  think  there  will  be  any 
difficulty  in  getting  the  third  horse.  Do  you  think  the  lady 
knows  how  to  ride,  sir  ? " 

"No;  I  think  it  is  quite  possible  that  she  does  not;  but 
if  we  take  another  horse  I  can  ride  double  with  her  by 
turns.  I  would  risk  a  great  deal  rather  than  go  with  only 
two  horses." 

"  We  will  get  one  somehow,  sir.  When  shall  I  move  the 
horses?" 

"You  had  better  take  them  down  to  the  river  just  after 
dusk.  Wait  with  them  there  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and 
then  walk  away  with  them  to  some  quiet  spot — of  course,  as 
near  as  possible  to  the  house.  Then  lie  down  beside  them; 
no  one  is  likely  to  notice  what  horses  they  are.  Probably 
Cabrera's  horses  are  behind  his  house." 

"Yes,  they  are,  sir." 


THE   ESCAPE  14:3 

"  Well  then,  get  them  as  close  to  those  as  you  can.  You 
might  wait  a  short  distance  off  till  it  is  time  to  make  a  move, 
then  take  them  as  close  to  his  horses  as  possible.  Loosen 
the  foot-ropes  of  one  or  two  of  his  horses,  so  that  when  the 
time  comes  we  can  easily  take  one,  and  perhaps  two,  of 
them.  We  can  each  lead  one;  that  will  give  us  two 
changes." 

At  eight  o'clock  they  went  out  from  the  cottage,  each 
leading  a  horse.  Already  the  number  of  men  in  the  streets 
had  begun  to  thin. 

"  Are  you  going  ? "  more  than  one  asked  Arthur  as  they 


"  Yes,"  he  said ;  "  I  have  tried  in  vain  to  induce  your  chief 
to  spare  the  life  of  the  lady  he  took  prisoner,  and  finding  my 
entreaties  of  no  avail,  I  am  going." 

"  It  is  a  pity,"  the  man  said ;  "  but  the  general  will  have 
his  way,  and  who  can  blame  him  ? " 

They  went  down  to  the  river,  watered  the  horses,  and  then 
Roper  took  the  two  bridles  and  started  to  walk  some  distance 
down  the  bank,  so  as  to  be  able  to  approach  the  back  of  the 
village  as  if  he  had  been  grazing  the  horses  in  the  fields. 
Arthur,  on  his  part,  went  to  the  priest's. 

"  I  have  succeeded,  my  son.  At  first  he  would  not  do  it, 
but  it  was  evident  to  him  that  those  with  him  were  shocked 
at  the  idea  of  refusing  to  let  the  lady  have  the  last  minis- 
trations of  the  Church.  'Here  is  the  paper,'  he  said  when 
he  signed  it.  '  You  may  go  in  to  her,  father,  but  I  will  have 
no  goings  in  and  out.  You  may  enter,  but  you  will  remain 
with  her  till  she  is  brought  out  for  execution  at  daybreak.' 
I  said,  '  So  be  it.'  Here,  my  son,  are  my  hat  and  soutane. 
May  God's  blessing  light  upon  your  brave  effort  to  rescue 
her,  and  may  you  carry  her  off  to  safety!  It  seems  to  me 
a  desperate  enterprise,  but  you  are  young  and  vigorous,  and 
doubtless  accustomed  to  strife.  You  had  best  leave  this 
house  when  I  have  gone.  The  Carlists  are  for  the  most  part 
faithful  friends  of  the  Church.  Several  have  been  here  to- 


144:  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

day  to  confess  their  sins,  and  more  are  to  come  this  evening, 
and  it  were  best  that  they  should  not  find  you  here.  If  they 
find  the  house  empty,  they  will  suppose  that  I  have  gone 
to  the  church  or  on  some  other  mission." 

"  I  thank  you  for  your  suggestion,  father,  and  I  shall  act 
on  it.  I  fear  I  shall  not  be  able  to  restore  your  things  to 
you;  therefore,  I  pray  that  you  will  accept  these  five  pieces 
of  gold  in  order  that  you  may  replace  them." 

The  old  man  hesitated.  "  I  need  no  reward  for  doing  my 
duty,"  he  said. 

"Nor  should  I  think  of  offering  it  to  you,  but  I  know 
how  very  poor  you  village  cures  are,  and  that  it  would  be 
perhaps  a  serious  trouble  to  you  to  replace  these  things ;  and 
as  I  am  well  provided  with  money  it  is  but  just  and  right 
that  I  should  enable  you  to  replace  the  goods  you  have 
given  me.  For  your  aid  I  can  only  give  you  my  heartfelt 
thanks;  and  I  doubt  not  that,  when  all  this  trouble  is  over, 
the  Count  de  Balen  will  make  a  handsome  offering  to  you 
for  the  use  of  your  poor." 

"  Here  are  the  hat  and  soutane,  my  son.  Take  them  and 
my  blessing.  May  God  enable  you  to  carry  out  your  noble 
object." 

The  priest  then  put  on  a  biretta,  and  went  out  at  the  back 
of  his  house.  Arthur  rolled  up  the  dress  and  put  the  hat 
under  his  arm,  and  also  went  out  behind  and  sat  down 
against  the  wall  of  the  house.  When  he  heard  the  clock 
strike  a  quarter  to  ten,  he  put  on  the  priest's  robe  and  large 
three-cornered  hat.  He  took  up  a  lantern  which  the  priest 
had  placed  on  the  table,  went  through  the  house,  and  out  at 
the  front  door;  then,  imitating  the  quiet  walk  of  the  priest, 
he  went  up  the  now  deserted  street  and  paused  before  the 
sentry. 

"  Benedicite,  my  son !  "  he  said.  "  I  bear  an  order,  signed 
by  your  general,  authorizing  me  to  pass  the  night  with  this 
poor  child.  Here  it  is ; "  and  he  held  the  paper  up  to  the 
lantern.  The  man  glanced  at  it.  He  could  neither  read  nor 


THE    ESCAPE  145 

write,  but  he  knew  Cabrera's  signature  by  sight,  having  seen 
it  on  many  proclamations.  He  knocked  at  the  door. 

"  Open,"  he  said ;  "  here  is  one  with  a  permit  to  enter, 
signed  by  the  general." 

The  bolts  were  drawn,  and  the  door  opened.  A  rough- 
looking  man  stood  by  it,  another  was  sitting  at  a  table;  he 
stood  up  as  the  apparent  priest  entered.  The  first  man  shot 
the  top  bolt,  and  as  he  stooped  to  fasten  the  bottom  one 
Arthur  drove  his  dagger  to  the  hilt  between  his  shoulders; 
and  then,  turning,  sprang  upon  the  other  man  and  seized  him 
by  the  throat.  Taken  wholly  by  surprise,  the  man  could 
offer  no  resistance.  Arthur  flung  him  back  across  the  table, 
retaining  his  grip  upon  his  throat  until  the  man  became  un- 
conscious; then  he  thrust  a  piece  of  wood  he  had  brought 
with  him  between  his  teeth,  and  tied  it  there,  securely  fas- 
tened his  hands  and  legs,  and  tied  these  to  the  legs  of  the 
table.  He  had  thought  this  all  out :  one  man  must  be  killed, 
the  other  he  had  hoped  to  overcome  and  silence  by  surprise. 
Then  he  took  a  candle  which  was  burning  upon  the  table 
and  went  up-stairs. 

A  key  was  in  the  door.  He  turned  it  and  went  in.  Mer- 
cedes was  lying  upon  a  bed.  She  sprang  to  her  feet  as  he 
entered.  "  Hush !  "  he  said,  as  he  removed  his  hat.  "  I  have 
come  to  save  you,  Donna  Mercedes.  Hush,  I  implore  you !  " 
for  he  saw  that  the  girl  was  on  the  point  of  uttering  a 
scream  of  joy;  "your  life  depends  upon  your  keeping 
silence." 

She  dropped  back  upon  the  bed  and  burst  into  a  passion 
of  tears,  which  he  permitted  for  a  few  minutes.  Presently 
with  a  great  effort  she  checked  herself.  "  This  is  the  first 
tear  I  have  shed  since  I  saw  Leon  killed." 

"He  is  not  killed,  Donna  Mercedes;  he  is  grievously 
wounded,  but  will,  I  hope,  recover." 

"  Are  you  sure  ? "  she  exclaimed  incredulously,  rising  to 
her  feet  and  laying  her  hand  on  his  arm. 

"  Quite  sure ;  sure,  at  least,  that  he  was  well  and  sensible 


146  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

when  I  left  him,  and  was  to  be  carried  this  morning  down 
to  Albacete.  He  was  only  anxious  about  you,  and  I  told 
him  that  I  would  bring  you  safely  back  to  him.  I  have  got 
my  man  with  me;  by  this  time  he  will  have  slain  the  sentry 
beneath  your  window,  and  we  must  be  going.  Now  I  will 
let  you  down.  I  will  take  hold  of  your  hands  and  lower  you 
as  far  as  I  can  reach;  it  will  not  be  more  than  a  foot  or 
two  to  drop.  First,  I  will  blow  out  this  candle;  possibly 
the  opening  of  the  window  would  be  noticed  were  it  alight." 

He  spoke  in  a  quiet,  matter-of-fact  way  so  as  to  steady 
the  girl's  nerves,  blew  out  the  candle,  and  opened  the  win- 
dow. "Now,"  he  said,  "I  will  let  you  down."  He  lifted 
her  through  the  window,  and  then,  holding  her  wrists,  low- 
ered her  as  far  as  he  could  reach  and  then  let  her  go,  and 
swinging  himself  out  dropped  beside  her.  "We  must  wait 
now,"  he  said,  "  till  my  man  comes  to  fetch  us  to  the  horses. 
It  is  as  well  that  your  eyes  should  become  accustomed  to 
the  darkness  before  we  move." 

In  three  minutes  Roper  came  up. 

"  It  is  all  right  so  far,  Roper ;  here  is  the  lady  beside  me. 
Now  for  the  horses." 

"  They  are  not  fifty  yards  away,  sir.  You  must  be  care- 
ful how  you  walk,  for  there  are  many  asleep  in  the  garden. 
I  have  noted  all  their  places,  and  if  you  keep  your  hand 
upon  my  shoulder  I  can  lead  you  through." 

Placing  the  girl  .between  himself  and  his  follower,  his  hands 
on  the  latter's  shoulders,  Arthur  moved  quietly  along.  He 
could  vaguely  make  out  a  dark  figure  lying  down  here  and 
there.  It  was  an  intensely  anxious  time,  but  all  seemed 
perfectly  quiet.  They  reached  the  end  of  the  garden,  and 
going  through  a  hole  in  the  fence,  came  presently  upon  four 
horses.  Arthur  dropped  his  hat  and  soutane,  and  threw  his 
cloak,  which  he  had  brought  with  him,  over  his  shoulder. 

"  Shall  we  mount  here  or  walk  ?  " 

"I  think  we  had  better  walk  a  bit,  sir." 

Arthur  took  the  bridles  of  two  of  the  horses,  and  telling 


THE    ESCAPE  147 

the  girl  to  keep  close  behind  him,  followed  Roper,  who  led 
the  other  two  horses.  They  walked  for  four  or  five  min- 
utes, then  Roper  stopped. 

"  I  think  we  are  well  beyond  them  now,  sir,"  he  said.  "  I 
have  been  over  all  this  ground  five  or  six  times  this  evening, 
and  I  am  pretty  sure  that  none  of  them  are  beyond  us." 

Arthur  put  on  his  cocked  hat,  which  he  had  previously 
carried,  as,  if  they  had  been  noticed,  its  outline  would  at 
once  have  provoked  curiosity.  Then  he  mounted  one  of  the 
horses,  and  lifted  Mercedes  into  the  saddle  in  front  of  him. 
They  went  at  a  walk  for  some  little  distance,  and  then  broke 
into  a  canter. 

"  We  are  safe  now,  are  we  not  ?  "  Mercedes  asked. 

"  I  hope  so.  The  only  question  is  the  hour  at  which  they 
change  the  guard.  My  man  killed  a  fellow  who  was  under 
your  window,  and  of  course  this  must  be  discovered  when 
they  do  so;  that  was  the  only  thing  that  I  could  not  calcu- 
late upon.  However,  when  they  discover  that  we  have 
escaped  it  will  be  some  time  before  they  mount;  and  as  they 
won't  know  which  way  we  have  gone,  the  betting  is  strongly 
against  our  being  overtaken.  I  think,  upon  the  whole,  we 
may  consider  ourselves  pretty  safe." 

They  rode  along  by  the  side  of  the  river,  crossed  it  at  a 
ford  at  Banada,  and  just  as  day  was  breaking  arrived  at  the 
ruins  of  the  palace.  Arthur  had  twice  changed  horses,  but 
few  words  had  been  spoken  on  the  journey." 

"You  must  not  think,  Don  Arthur,"  the  girl  had  said 
once,  "  that  I  do  not  feel  grateful  because  I  cannot  tell  you 
so;  it  is  because  I  feel  too  grateful  to  express  it." 

"  Do  not  trouble  yourself,  senorita.  I  know  perfectly  well 
how  you  must  be  feeling,  and  it  is  not  at  all  necessary  for 
you  to  tell  me;  you  must  have  gone  through  a  terrible  time 
indeed." 

"  I  thought  more  of  my  brother's  fate  than  my  own,"  she 
said.  "  It  did  not  seem  to  me  to  be  so  hard  to  die.  It  was 
of  Leon,  my  dear  brother,  that  I  thought  so  much,  and 


148  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

grieved  for.     I  could  hardly  think  that  that  terrible  man 
really  meant  to  kill  me,  and  yet  he  seemed  altogether  without 

Pity." 

"  He  was.  The  good  priest,  whose  dress  I  wore  and  whose 
place  I  took,  had  endeavoured  in  vain  to  turn  him  from  his 
determination.  I  myself  saw  him,  and  denounced  the  crime 
as  being  contrary  to  the  Conventions;  but  he  would  not, hear 
me,  and  declared  that,  come  what  might,  you  should  be  shot 
the  first  thing  in  the  morning.  And  it  was  only  when  I 
found  that  the  case  was  absolutely  hopeless  that  I  deter- 
mined to  set  you  free  at  whatever  risk.  The  priest  aided 
me.  He  obtained  from  Cabrera  an  order  to  spend  the  night 
with  you,  in  order  to  prepare  you  for  death.  He  passed  me 
the  order,  and  went  away  himself  so  as  to  escape  the  ven- 
geance of  that  scoundrel,  and  I  and  my  man  between  us 
managed  to  get  you  out." 

"  But  there  were  two  men  below,  were  there  not  ?  I  heard 
them  talking." 

"  Yes ;  I  had  to  kill  one  of  them,  and  the  other  I  gagged 
and  tied  up.  I  don't  suppose  he  will  be  any  the  worse  when 
they  find  him  in  the  morning.  Now,  we  will  change  horses, 
and  then  I  hope  you  will  try  to  sleep.  You  cannot  have 
closed  an  eye  since  you  were  captured,  and  we  shall  have 
plenty  of  time  to  talk  later  on."  The  girl  did  as  he  told 
her,  and  remained  quiet  in  his  arms,  but  he  could  see  that 
her  eyes  never  closed. 

"  I  wish  I  could  ride,"  she  said  once,  "  so  that  I  might  re- 
lieve you  of  my  weight." 

"Your  weight  is  nothing,"  he  said;  "and  each  time  we 
change  horses  I  put  you  on  the  other  side,  and  so  rest  my 
arm." 

As  they  drew  up  at  the  shed  from  which  he  had  ridden 
thirty-six  hours  before,  the  women  ran  out  and  cried  with 
joy. 

Arthur  handed  the  girl  down  to  them. 

"Take  her  inside,"  he  said,  "and  give  her  something  to 


THE    ESCAPE  149 

eat,  and  then  let  her  lie  down  for  a  bit;  she  must  be  des- 
perately tired." 

Then  he  himself  got  down  and  shook  hands  warmly  with 
Roper. 

"  This  has  been  as  good  a  night's  work,  Roper,  as  you  are 
ever  likely  to  do,  if  you  live  to  be  a  hundred." 

"It  has  been  a  good  business,  sir,  and  I  enjoyed  it  all  ex- 
cept the  stabbing  of  that  sentry.  It  went  badly  against  the 
grain,  but  I  knew  it  had  to  be  done,  for  it  was  our  lives 
against  his." 

"  I  had  to  do  just  the  same  thing ;  but,  as  you  say,  it  was 
a  matter  of  necessity,  though  I  wish  heartily  that  it  had 
been  Cabrera  himself.  However,  the  thought  will  not 
trouble  me.  If  men  choose  to  follow  a  ruffian  like  that,  they 
must  take  the  consequences.  Those  are  two  good  horses  you 
got  hold  of." 

"Yes;  that  one  is  Cabrera's  own.  Fortunately  he  was 
standing  at  the  end  of  the  line.  I  had  noted  his  position 
before  it  got  dark,  and  was  mightily  pleased  that  I  could 
get  at  him,  for  I  thought  it  would  rile  the  scoundrel  nicely 
to  lose  not  only  his  prisoner  but  his  horse.  The  other  is  a 
good  one  too." 

"  Well,  give  them  a  good  feed  all  round ;  and  then  you 
must  see  what  we  can  get  to  eat  ourselves,  for  we  only  had 
a  piece  of  bread  all  yesterday  and  not  much  the  day  before. 
We  can  get  some  beans  anyhow,  and,  I  expect,  a  chicken, 
and  I  will  tell  the  women  to  boil  one  down  for  Donna  Mer- 
cedes. We  may  be  sure  that  she  has  eaten  next  to  nothing 
since  she  was  taken." 

A  woman  presently  came  out  from  the  hut  and  said  that 
the  lady  had  dropped  off  to  sleep,  and  that  one  of  their 
number  was  sitting  with  her.  They  set  to  work  at  once  to 
carry  out  Arthur's  instructions.  Two  chickens  were  killed, 
dipped  into  boiling  water  to  take  the  feathers  off,  and  then 
cut  in  two  and  put  over  a  wood  fire.  Some  beans  were 
baked  on  a  girdle,  and  another  chicken  was  put  into  a  pot 
to  simmer. 


150  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

"Boil  it  down  till  there  is  only  about  a  pint  of  liquor 
left,"  was  his  order;  "then  strain  it,  and  keep  it  hot  for  her 
till  she  wakes.  Have  you  heard  how  the  count  bore  the 
journey?" 

"Yes,  sir;  some  of  the  men  came  back  in  the  evening  and 
said  that  he  had  slept  a  good  deal  on  the  way." 

Five  hours  later  Donna  Mercedes  awoke,  and  having  drunk 
the  broth  prepared  for  her,  came  out. 

"  Now,  if  you  feel  strong  enough  we  will  ride  on  to  Alba- 
cete  at  once,"  Arthur  said.  "Your  brother  must  be  in  a 
terrible  state  of  anxiety  about  you,  and  your  appearance  will 
do  more  for  him  than  the  doctors  can  do." 

"  I  am  ready,"  she  said  brightly.  "  The  sleep  and  a  wash 
have  done  wonders  for  me." 

Koper  at  once  put  the  saddles  on  the  horses. 

"No,"  she  said;  "I  will  ride  now.  I  never  have  ridden, 
but  I  am  sure  that  I  can  do  it,  and  you  can  fasten  a  leading 
rein  to  my  horse." 

"It  is  not  easy  without  a  side-saddle,  senora;  but  the 
pommel  of  this  saddle  is  high,  and  if  we  go  gently  you  will 
be  able  to  hold  on." 

"  At  any  rate  I  will  try,"  she  said. 

The  stirrups  were  arranged  the  proper  length  and  Donna 
Mercedes  lifted  into  the  saddle. 

"  I  shall  manage  very  well,"  she  said,  as  she  settled  herself 
on  it.  "  I  will  learn  to  ride  after  this.  I  won't  be  so  help- 
less in  future." 

Before  mounting  Arthur  attached  a  leading  rein  to  her 
horse's  bit,  and  they  started  at  a  gentle  canter,  Koper  lead- 
ing the  other  horse.  Three  hours'  riding  brought  them  to 
Albacete.  They  put  the  horses  up  in  the  stable,  and  then 
enquired  where  the  count  had  been  taken.  It  was  to  the 
principal  hotel,  and  there  Arthur  went  at  once  with  Donna 
Mercedes.  They  went  up  to  the  room  together,  and  Arthur 
opened  the  door,  let  the  girl  pass  in,  and  then  closed  it  be- 
hind her  and  went  down-stairs.  A  quarter  of  an  hour  later 


THE    ESCAPE  151 

a  servant  came  down  and  said  that  the  count  wished  to  see 
him. 

"  Ah,  my  dear  Arthur ! "  Leon  exclaimed  as  he  entered, 
"  how  can  I  thank  you  enough,  for  my  sister  and  myself,  for 
all  that  you  have  done  for  us !  She  seems  restored  to  me  by 
a  miracle." 

"It  is  not  much  of  a  miracle,  Leon;  it  required  only  a 
little  invention  and  a  little  pluck,  and  the  affair  was  man- 
aged. I  felt  that  it  was  very  hard  if  I  could  not  get  your 
sister  out  of  the  hands  of  that  scoundrel,  and  our  success 
can  scarcely  have  afforded  you  more  pleasure  than  it  has 
Koper  and  myself." 

"  It  is  all  very  well  to  say  so,  but  the  fact  is  not  changed. 
You  have  rescued  her  from  certain  death,  have  carried  her 
off  from  the  centre  of  four  thousand  men.  My  sister  tells 
me  that  you  did  it  in  the  disguise  of  a  priest." 

"  Yes,  and  the  good  man  gave  me  every  assistance.  I  have 
not  been  ill-paid,"  he  said  with  a  light  laugh,  "for  I  have 
got  hold  of  two  very  valuable  horses.  Now,  you  will  have 
to  take  care  of  each  other.  Your  sister  has  been  splendidly 
brave,  but  she  will  need  rest  and  quiet  for  a  while,  she  could 
not  have  a  better  thing  to  do  than  to  look  after  you;  and 
it  will  do  you  good  to  be  cared  for  by  her.  I  shall  wait 
here  for  a  couple  of  days,  for  the  horses  have  had  four 
long  days'  work.  I  suppose  you  have  not  seen  anyone  here 
yet?" 

"No;  a  good  many  gentlemen  of  my  acquaintance  have 
left  their  cards,  but  the  doctor  said  I  was  not  to  see  any- 
one at  present.  He  thinks  it  will  be  nearly  a  month  before 
I  can  move;  and  he  said  this  morning  that  he  was  afraid  I 
should  get  into  a  high  state  of  fever  if  I  agitated  myself. 
However,  I  have  no  fear  of  that  now.  You  have  done  me 
more  good  than  all  the  doctors  in  Spain  could  do.  Now, 
Mercedes,  you  must  lift  your  head  up  from  that  pillow  and 
stop  crying." 

"  No  one  could  have  been  calmer  or  cooler  than  your  sis- 


152  WITH    THE    BRITISH 

ter  was,  Leon;  and  now  that  it  is  all  over,  and  she  has 
found  that  you  are  doing  well,  you  must  not  be  surprised  at 
her  breaking  down  a  little.  I  can  assure  you  that  from  the 
time  I  entered  her  room  till  we  rode  fairly  away  she  was  as 
quiet  and  composed  as  possible;  in  fact,  she  did  not  speak 
a  single  word  from  the  moment  I  lowered  her  down  from 
the  window  till  we  were  able  to  put  our  horses  into  a  canter. 
To  me  it  was  just  like  a  school  adventure.  I  was  always 
getting  into  scrapes  at  school,  and  master  after  master  re- 
fused to  keep  me — it  was  for  that  reason  that  I  enlisted  in 
our  Legion — and  it  really  seemed  to  me  the  same  sort  of 
thing,  only  with  a  little  spice  of  danger  and  the  pleasure 
and  satisfaction  of  doing  some  good. 

"And  now,  Donna  Mercedes,  if  you  will  take  my  advice 
you  will  go  straight  to  bed.  You  will  want  all  your  strength 
to  nurse  your  brother.  You  have  gone  through  frightful 
anxiety,  and  have  made  a  long  and  very  fatiguing  journey, 
and  before  you  install  yourself  at  your  brother's  bedside  you 
want  a  long  rest.  If  you  do  not  take  it,  you  will  be  break- 
ing down  badly.  You  see  for  yourself  that  he  is  doing  well, 
and  now  that  he  has  got  you  back  again  there  is  no  fear  of 
his  having  a  relapse.  He  himself  can  have  slept  but  little. 
Therefore,  I  trust  that  you  will  at  once  lie  down  and  have 
a  good  long  rest,  and  that  he  will  do  the  same,  then  this 
evening  you  will  be  able  to  have  a  quiet  chat  for  a  couple 
of  hours.  I  shall  be  quite  willing  to  take  my  own  prescrip- 
tion and  lie  down  till  this  evening." 

"  Arthur  is  right,"  Leon  said.  "  We  have  all  gone  through 
a  painful  time,  and  we  shall  be  more  ourselves  after  a  sleep. 
I  don't  think  I  have  slept  five  minutes  at  a  time  since  we 
were  attacked.  At  any  rate,  we  must  both  obey  orders.  It 
is  one  o'clock  now,  we  will  meet  here  again  at  eight." 

Arthur  at  once  went  down-stairs.  He  found  Roper  in  the 
stables,  he  having  just  fed  the  horses. 

"Now,  Roper,  you  had  better  turn  in  at  once;  I  have 
arranged  for  a  room  for  you.  I  shall  not  want  anything 


THE    ESCAPE  153 

more  to-day.  You  had  better  settle  with  one  of  the  stable- 
men here  to  feed  and  water  the  horses  this  evening." 

"  I  will  come  down  again,  sir,  later." 

"Well,  you  can  do  it  if  you  wake,  Koper;  but  I  expect 
that  when  you  once  shut  your  eyes  you  won't  open  them 
again  till  to-morrow  morning.  At  any  rate,  you  can  arrange 
that  the  horses  shall  be  attended  to  if  you  should  not  come 
down.  I  feel  very  uncertain  myself  about  waking." 

Arthur  gave  orders  that  he  should  be  roused  at  eight 
o'clock,  and  in  a  very  few  minutes  was  fast  asleep.  He  could 
hardly  believe  that  he  had  been  six  hours  asleep  when  there 
was  a  knock  at  his  door.  However,  he  jumped  out  of  bed, 
washed  as  well  as  he  was  able  with  the  very  scanty  supply 
of  water  deemed  sufficient  for  his  ablutions,  and  then  went 
down  to  Leon's  room. 

"  You  look  better,  Leon,"  he  said  as  he  entered. 

"  I  feel  better.  Indeed,  I  have  slept  like  a  dormouse,  and 
did  not  wake  till  the  servant  came  in  a  few  minutes  ago. 
The  doctor  said  that  I  was  quite  a  different  man  from  what 
I  was  this  morning." 

"  I  feel  ever  so  much  better  too,  and  should  feel  better 
still  if  I  could  have  had  a  bath.  I  hope  your  sister  won't 
wake;  she  would  be  all  the  fresher  for  a  complete  night's 
rest." 

"  She  told  me  she  slept  a  good  deal  on  the  ride." 

"Yes;  I  think  she  dozed.  No  wonder!  She  must  have 
had  a  terrible  time  of  it,  poor  girl!  It  was  a  fearful  posi- 
tion for  her,  and  I  quite  expected  that  when  I  got  to  her 
I  should  have  found  her  completely  prostrated." 

"  I  expect  she  will  get  up.  I  know  she  wants  to  hear  how 
you  have  managed  it  all.  She  has  told  me  that  she  had 
not  asked  you  anything.  You  appeared  suddenly,  dressed 
as  a  priest,  and  after  you  had  got  away  she  had  felt  so 
happy  in  being  safe,  and  yet  so  bewildered  at  it  all,  that  she 
had  scarcely  spoken  at  all,  and  I  can  quite  understand  her 
feelings." 


154  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION" 

"  So  can  I,  perfectly,  and  on  our  ride  to  this  place  I 
could  see  that  she  was  thinking  of  nothing  but  meeting  you. 
I  don't  think  she  credited  my  assurance  that  you  were  not 
mortally  wounded,  and  was  yearning  for  a  sight  of  you. 
Ah,  here  she  is !  " 

"  You  are  looking  better,  Leon,"  she  said,  as  she  came  up 
to  the  bedside. 

"  I  am  feeling  a  hundred  per  cent  better.  The  doctor  says 
that  I  am  quite  a  different  man,  and  that  whereas  when  he 
saw  me  this  morning  he  did  not  feel  at  all  sure  that  I  should 
get  over  it,  he  has  no  fears  whatever  about  me  now.  So 
you  see,  Arthur,  you  have  saved  both  our  lives." 

"  Well,  don't  let  us  say  anything  more  about  it,  Leon.  The 
affair  has  turned  out  all  right,  and  there  is  no  more  to  be  said 
on  the  matter." 

Leon  smiled.  "  That  is  all  very  well  for  you,  but  it  is 
not  quite  so  satisfactory  to  us.  Now,  you  must  tell  us  all 
about  it.  For  the  present  I  only  know  that  you  got  a  priest 
to  help  in  some  way,  and  I  want  the  full  particulars." 

"Well,  I  will  tell  you  the  whole  story." 

And  he  gave  a  full  account  of  the  events  from  the  mo- 
ment of  his  arrival  in  the  village.  "I  would  have  given  a 
good  deal,"  he  said,  after  describing  the  scene  with  Cabrera, 
"  to  have  got  the  scoundrel  in  a  quiet  place  by  myself,  though 
I  am  bound  to  say  I  doubt  whether  I  should  have  been  found 
the  better  man.  The  fellow,  to  do  him  justice,  is  uncom- 
monly vigorous  and  powerful,  and  I  might  have  discovered 
that  I  had  caught  a  Tartar;  but  I  was  so  furious  with  him 
that  I  would  willingly  have  taken  my  chance.  Of  course 
I  can  make  every  allowance  for  a  man  whose  mother  has 
been  murdered  in  this  war,  and  I  can  understand  his  show- 
ing no  mercy  to  men  of  the  other  party  who  may  fall  into 
his  hands;  but  to  take  revenge  upon  women,  who  had  noth- 
ing whatever  to  do  with  the  wrong  he  has  suffered,  is  mon- 
strous. He  should  know  by  his  own  feelings  what  their 
friends  would  suffer.  However,  as  he  was  not  to  be  moved 


THE    ESCAPE  155 

I  felt  that  I  must  depend  upon  myself,  and  I  decided  that 
the  only  way  to  get  at  the  senora  would  be  by  the  assist- 
ance of  the  priest,  or  at  any  rate  that  that  was  the  first 
plan  to  attempt." 

He  then  related  his  interview  with  the  priest,  and  the 
manner  in  which  the  latter  had  at  once  agreed  to  aid  him, 
the  various  steps  he  had  taken  to  ascertain  the  position  of 
the  Carlists  lying  about  the  village,  and  to  secure  a  spare 
horse,  and  how  he  had  carried  out  his  plans. 

"I  was  sorry,"  he  said,  "to  have  to  kill  one  of  the  men 
in  the  hut,  but  I  could  see  no  other  way  of  disposing  of 
both  of  them  before  an  alarm  could  be  given.  Of  course  if 
I  had  not  been  able  to  obtain  the  priest's  disguise  I  should 
have  had  to  kill  the  sentry  at  the  door  too,  but  even  then 
the  men  inside  might  not  have  opened  the  door  to  my  sum- 
mons, probably  they  would  not  have  done  so.  Still,  I  own 
that  it  went  desperately  against  the  grain  to  have  to  stab 
that  man;  that  was  really  the  only  unpleasant  part  of  the 
business.  All  the  rest  was  simple,  and  Donna  Mercedes  was 
very  brave  and  very  quiet.  Roper  had  obtained  an  accurate 
idea  of  where  the  Carlists  were  all  lying,  so  that  there  was 
not  a  single  hitch  in  the  affair.  If  it  hadn't  been  for  your 
sister  I  should  have  almost  preferred  a  chase  and  some  ex- 
citement, but  as  it  was,  I  was  of  course  very  thankful  that 
everything  went  so  perfectly." 

"I  will  take  care,"  Leon  said,  "that  the  priest  is  made 
comfortable  for  life.  I  can,  at  any  rate,  show  my  grati- 
tude in  that  quarter,  though  I  must  always  remain  in  debt 
to  you.  What  are  you  going  to  do  next  ? " 

"I  am  going  to  stop  here  for  a  couple  of  days,  and  if  I 
can  get  a  good  price  for  two  of  the  horses  I  shall  sell  them. 
I  shall  keep  that  one  of  Cabrera's.  It  is  a  splendid  animal; 
and  I  think  of  the  others  the  best  is  the  one  that  belonged 
to  Major  Hawkins.  The  other  two  are  both  good  animals, 
and  worth,  I  should  say,  from  thirty  to  forty  pounds  apiece." 

"I  will  give  you  that  for  them  gladly.    Of  course,  Ca- 


156  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

brera's  people  carried  off  all  mine,  and  I  must  haye  two  for 
riding  back  to  Madrid,  so  I  shall  be  really  glad  to  take  your 
two  off  your  hands." 

"  Very  well,"  Arthur  said ;  "  I  certainly  did  not  want  to 
saddle  you  with  them,  but  as  you  say  you  really  want  them 
I  would  rather  sell  them  to  you  than  to  anyone  else." 

"  Then  that  is  settled.  I  shall  get  Mercedes  to  write  to- 
morrow for  two  of  my  servants  to  come  here;  the  men  who 
accompanied  us  were  both  killed.  Besides,  I  must  get  Donna 
Martha,  her  duenna,  and  her  maid  to  join  us  to  keep  her 
company.  It  would  not  be  seemly  for  her  to  be  here  alone 
while  I  am  laid  up." 

Arthur  laughed. 

"By  the  way,  Mercedes,  you  will  have  to  write  to  Don 
Silvio,  telling  him  what  you  have  gone  through." 

The  girl  looked  earnestly  at  her  brother,  but  made  no 
answer,  and  he  turned  again  to  Arthur. 

"  But  you  did  not  say  what  you  were  going  to  do  ? " 

"I  hardly  know.  My  instructions  were  to  go  to  Mercia 
and  see  the  governor  there,  and  to  endeavour  to  impress  upon 
him  the  importance  of  observing  the  Conventions  strictly. 
I  was  not  altogether  successful.  He  repeated  his  desire  to  do 
so,  but  pointed  out  to  me  that  Cabrera  so  persistently  re- 
fused to  observe  them  in  any  way,  and  committed  such  atroc- 
ities, that  the  people  were  roused  beyond  control.  However 
much,  therefore,  he  might  wish  to  carry  on  the  war  hu- 
manely, public  opinion  was  too  strong  for  him,  and  the 
friends  of  the  people  murdered  by  Cabrera  naturally  clam- 
oured for  reprisals.  It  was  my  intention,  when  I  arrived, 
to  proceed  to  Cabrera's  camp  and  endeavour  to  persuade  him 
to  carry  on  the  war  less  ruthlessly.  Well,  I  have  been  to 
him,  and  see  that  remonstrances  are  not  of  the  slightest 
avail.  I  shall  now  go  to  Madrid  and  request  the  minister 
of  war  to  send  a  formal  despatch  to  him  calling  upon  him 
to  conduct  the  war  more  humanely,  and  saying  that  unless 
he  does  so,  all  his  followers  who  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 


ARTHUR    FLUNQ    HIM    BACK   ACROSS    THE) 


THE    ESCAPE  157 

royal  troops  must  be  put  to  the  sword,  however  painful  it 
would  be  to  him  to  give  orders  to  that  effect.  I  don't  sup- 
pose such  a  communication  would  influence  him  in  any  way, 
but  it  might  influence  his  followers,  who  can  scarcely  like 
to  fight  with,  as  it  were,  halters  round  their  necks.  It  is 
extraordinary  to  me  that  people  of  one  nation  should  fight 
so  ferociously,  and  should  refuse  quarter  to  each  other. 
Against  a  foreign  invader  one  can  imagine  such  a  spirit,  as, 
for  example,  when  you  were  invaded  by  the  French;  but 
that  people  of  one  blood  should,  on  a  mere  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  who  should  be  king,  hate  each  other  so  venom- 
ously beats  me  altogether." 

"  I  cannot  give  any  reason  for  it,"  Leon  said.  "  I  am  in 
favour  of  Christina,  and  should  not  mind  doing  a  little  fight- 
ing, though,  as  I  am  not  a  soldier  I  don't  feel  called  upon 
to  take  up  arms.  Still,  it  seems  to  me  that  the  matter  might 
be  as  well  settled  by  everyone  giving  a  vote  one  way  or  the 
other,  and  the  minority  then  yielding  gracefully." 

They  chatted  for  some  time,  the  conversation  being  prin- 
cipally kept  up  by  Arthur.  Mercedes  scarcely  opened  her 
lips,  but  sat  by  her  brother's  side  holding  his  hand.  At  ten 
o'clock  his  nurse  came  in  and  said  that  he  must  now  be 
quiet  for  the  night,  and  the  others  again  went  off  to  their 
rooms.  After  breakfasting  by  himself,  Arthur  went  down 
to  the  stables. 

"  I  have  sold  those  two  horses  to  Count  Leon." 

"  Yes,  so  he  has  been  telling  me." 

"  Oh,  you  have  seen  him,  have  you? " 

"Yes,  sir;  he  sent  down  for  me  half  an  hour  ago.  He 
looks  a  deal  better  than  when  we  left  him  three  days  back." 

"Yes;  he  will  do  now.  He  has  lost  a  lot  of  blood,  and  it 
will  be  some  time  before  he  gains  strength  again;  but  the 
doctor  said  yesterday  that  he  had  no  fears  whatever  as  to 
his  getting  through." 

"  Well,  he  has  quite  taken  away  my  breath  this  morning." 

"Has  he?    In  what  way?" 


158  WITH  THE  BRITISH  LEGION 

"  Well,  sir,  he  has  told  me  that  when  he  gets  to  Madrid  he 
will  make  me  a  present  of  five  hundred  pounds." 

"  I  am  glad  indeed  to  hear  it,  Roper.  You  have  done  him 
an  enormous  service  at  a  good  deal  of  risk.  I  have  always 
understood  that  he  is  a  wealthy  young  noble,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  he  can  very  well  afford  to  do  it." 

"  I  told  him,  sir,  that  really  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  it, 
and  that  I  had  simply  done  what  you  had  ordered  me,  never 
having  seen  the  young  lady  myself.  But  he  would  not  allow 
that  that  made  any  difference.  I  had  assisted  in  saving  his 
sister's  life,  and  he  was  very  pleased  to  be  able  to  make  such 
an  acknowledgment  of  my  services.  I  should  not  mind  how 
many  ladies'  lives  I  saved  on  such  terms." 

"Well,  I  am  heartily  glad,  Roper.  It  always  has  been  a 
source  of  annoyance  to  me  that  I  was  not  able  to  do  more 
for  you  when  we  have  been  such  friends  together." 

"  That  is  all  right,  sir.  We  were  friends  together  for  a 
time,  but  I  was  in  my  right  position  and  you  were  not. 
That,  of  course,  was  soon  put  right,  and  we  have  stood  ever 
since  in  the  proper  relation  towards  each  other.  I  am  only 
too  glad  to  work  for  you,  and  now  you  have  put  me  in  for 
a  very  good  thing.  If  I  were  to  go  home  now,  everyone 
would  say  that  I  had  done  mightily  well  for  myself,  and  I 
should  go  in  for  farming  again;  I  made  a  mistake  in  leav- 
ing it." 

"Well,  when  we  get  home,  Roper,  I  will  see  that  you 
have  the  first  farm  that  is  vacant  on  my  estate." 

"  Why,  I  did  not  know  that  you  had  an  estate,"  Roper 
said  in  surprise. 

"  Yes,  I  have  an  estate,  and,  I  believe,  a  pretty  good  one ; 
but  I  am  not  to  come  into  it  till  I  am  five-and-twenty.  I 
think  my  father  saw  that  I  was  a  harum-scarum  sort  of  chap, 
so  he  settled  it  in  that  way.  But  though  I  am  not  to  come 
in  for  it  till  I  am  twenty-five,  I  have  an  uncle  who  manages 
it  for  me,  and  I  can  certainly  persuade  him  to  give  you  the 
first  farm  that  is  vacant.  I  had  intended  to  do  so  before, 


THE    ESCAPE  159 

but  I  thought  there  might  be  some  difficulty  about  it,  be- 
cause you  would  require  capital  to  work  it,  but  this  five 
hundred  pounds  would  give  you  a  fair  start  on  a  small  farm." 

"  That  would  be  splendid,  sir !  That  will  give  me  some- 
thing to  look  forward  to.  As  long  as  you  stay  out  here  I 
shall  stay  with  you,  if  it  were  for  another  ten  years;  but  it 
makes  all  the  difference  having  something  to  look  forward 
to  afterwards,  for  I  have  wondered  sometimes  what  on  earth 
I  should  do  when  I  went  back  again,  I  should  feel  so  strange. 
I  have  thought,  too,  sometimes  about  you,  and  what  you 
would  do  when  this  affair  had  come  to  an  end.  Well,  I  am 
as  glad  to  know  that  you  will  be  all  right  as  I  am  about 
myself." 

Arthur  went  upstairs.  As  he  entered  the  room  Mercedes 
got  up  from  her  brother's  bedside  and  went  out. 

"  I  am  a  little  upset,  Arthur,"  Leon  said. 

"  Are  you  ?  What  is  the  matter  ?  you  are  not  feeling 
worse,  I  hope  ?  " 

"No;  it  is  nothing  about  myself,  it  is  about  Mercedes. 
You  know  that  three  months  ago  she  was  betrothed — not 
formally,  you  know,  but  the  matter  was  arranged — to  Count 
Silvio  de  Mora.  It  was  a  suitable  match  in  all  respects.  He 
was  some  fourteen  years  older  than  Mercedes,  and  a  worthy 
cavalier.  Of  course  he  asked  her  hand  of  me,  and  I  gave  my 
consent,  and  she  offered  no  more  objection  than  a  well- 
brought-up  maiden  should  do.  Now  she  turns  round  and 
tells  me  that  she  has  resolved  not  to  marry ;  that  after  being 
so  near  to  death  and  saved  as  by  a  miracle,  she  is  resolved 
to  live  single.  She  does  not  wish  to  enter  a  convent  or  any- 
thing of  that  sort,  but  at  any  rate  to  live  single  for  some 
years — in  fact  until  I  marry,  and  then  she  will  probably  go 
into  a  religious  house. 

"  Well,  it  all  seems  so  unnatural,  because  she  has  always 
had  very  high  spirits  and  been  fond  of  gaiety.  I  have  asked 
her  to  think  the  matter  over,  but  she  declares  that  nothing 
can  influence  her,  and  implores  me  to  let  her  have  her  own 


160  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

way.  I  can  understand  her  feelings.  Of  course,  she  is 
greatly  shaken  by  what  she  has  gone  through ;  I  hope  though 
in  time  she  will  recover  her  spirits.  But  she  has  declared 
that  nothing  will  move  her;  and  after  such  a  terrible  ex- 
perience as  she  has  had,  I  feel  that  at  present,  at  any  rate, 
I  must  let  her  have  her  own  way.  I  cannot  hold  a  pen  yet, 
and  I  shall  be  greatly  obliged  if  you  will  write  in  my  name 
to  the  count.  The  thought  of  this  engagement  evidently 
preys  upon  her  mind.  She  says  she  did  not  sleep  all  night, 
and  I  see  that  she  will  have  no  peace  until  I  carry  out  her 
wishes." 

"  Of  course,  I  will  do  as  you  wish,  Leon,  and  will  write 
from  your  dictation.  It  seems  to  me  natural,  poor  girl, 
that  she  should  be  terribly  shaken  by  what  she  has  gone 
through." 


CHAPTEK  X 

A    GOOD    SERVICE 

THE  letter  took  some  time  to  write.  It  began  with  an 
account  of  the  attack  upon  the  chateau,  and  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  count  and  his  servants  were  struck  down 
and  Donna  Mercedes  carried  off.  It  then  described  how  Ca- 
brera had  sentenced  her  to  be  shot,  and  how,  a  few  hours 
before  the  sentence  could  be  carried  out,  she  was  rescued  by 
Captain  Hallett  and  brought  safely  to  Albacete,  where  the 
count  himself  was  lying  wounded. 

"  My  sister  is  greatly  prostrated  by  the  terrible  trials  that 
she  has  passed  through.  She  considers  that  she  has  been 
preserved  by  a  miracle,  and  that  she  must  dedicate  her  life 
to  good  works.  She  has  expressed  to  me,  my  dear  count, 
her  irresistible  repugnance  to  the  plans  we  had  formed,  and 
has  implored  me  to  ask  you  to  relieve  her  from  her  engage- 
ment to  you. 


A   GOOD   SERVICE  161 

"I  have  argued  with  her  in  vain,  and  I  beg  of  you  not 
to  take  it  amiss  that  I  should  ask  you  to  release  her.  She 
is  profoundly  shaken,  and  will  not,  I  am  sure,  for  a  long 
time  be  fit  to  be  at  the  head  of  an  establishment  like  yours; 
and,  indeed,  as  I  have  said,  she  talks  of  entering  a  religious 
house.  I  trust,  my  dear  count,  that  this  unfortunate  cir- 
cumstance will  not  cause  any  breach  in  our  friendship  or 
the  long-established  good  feeling  between  our  families.  With 
assurances  of  my  deep  regret  at  this  severance  of  a  tie  to 
which  we  had  both  looked  forward,  and  of  my  regard  and 
appreciation,  I  sign  myself  yours  most  cordially." 

Here  Leon  took  the  pen  in  his  own  hands  and  feebly  added 
his  signature. 

"  Between  ourselves,"  he  said,  "  I  am  not  altogether  sorry 
that  the  engagement  is  broken  off.  I  have  a  great  esteem 
for  Don  Silvio,  but  I  am  not  sure  that  he  and  Mercedes  are 
quite  suited  to  each  other.  He  is  somewhat  grave  and  is  in 
the  thick  of  politics,  and  I  fancy  that  Mercedes  has  a  little 
resented  the  small  share  of  attention  he  has  paid  her.  How- 
ever, undoubtedly  the  affair  would  have  gone  on  in  its  usual 
course  had  it  not  been  for  this  matter." 

Arthur  took  his  departure  on  the  following  day.  It 
seemed  to  him  that  Donna  Mercedes  shunned  her  brother's 
room  while  he  was  there.  He  thought  it  natural  that  she 
should  be  embarrassed  by  the  feeling  that  she  owed  so  much 
to  him,  and  that,  as  the  letter  he  had  written  for  Leon 
showed,  she  should  be  profoundly  affected  by  the  events 
through  which  she  had  passed.  It  was,  too,  natural  that  she 
should  desire  to  be  alone  with  her  brother,  as  at  present  she 
was  without  a  maid  or  companion,  and  would  of  course  wish 
to  act  as  his  nurse.  He  therefore  said  good-bye  to  them  in 
the  evening,  as  he  intended  to  start  early. 

"I  hope  I  shall  see  you  in  the  course  of  a  month  or  so, 
Leon,"  he  said. 

"Yes,  I  hope  so." 

"And  I  trust,  Donna  Mercedes,  that  you  will  be  looking 


162  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

more  yourself,  and  will  have  shaken  off  the  effects  of  the 
trial  you  have  gone  through." 

The  girl  put  her  hand  in  his,  and  looked  as  if  she  would 
have  spoken,  but  she  was  evidently  too  much  moved  for 
words.  So  he  turned  and  left  them. 

"I  should  hardly  have  thought  that  she  would  have  felt 
it  so  much,"  he  said  to  himself  as  he  went  up  to  his  room; 
"  though,  of  course,  it  has  been  a  most  terrible  trial,  what 
with  the  anxiety  about  her  brother  and  herself.  However,  I 
hope  she  will  soon  shake  it  off.  I  know  she  has  plenty  of 
spirit,  and  nothing  could  have  been  more  plucky  than  the 
way  in  which  she  behaved  until  we  were  fairly  away  from 
her  prison.  No  doubt  she  feels  it  more  now  that  it  is  all 
over  and  she  has  nothing  to  keep  up  for.  I  wonder  how  the 
count  will  take  her  breaking  off  the  engagement  ?  I  am  not 
sorry  she  has  done  it.  He  is  extremely  courteous  and,  I  sup- 
pose, attentive,  but  he  was  always  formal,  and  did  not  seem 
to  me  to  really  care  for  her.  Not  that  I  know  anything  of 
such  matters ;  still,  I  think  myself  that  if  I  were  engaged  to 
an  extremely  nice  girl  I  should  not  content  myself  with 
pressing  the  tips  of  her  fingers.  However,  that  may  be  the 
Spanish  custom.  How  my  cousins  would  have  laughed  if  I 
had  treated  them  in  such  a  ceremonious  sort  of  way ! " 

It  was  nearly  a  month  before  Arthur  returned  to  Madrid, 
for  he  was  with  the  Christinos  when  they  were  defeated  by 
Cabrera  with  great  loss  near  Tortosa.  He  had  taken  no 
actual  part  in  the  fight,  though  he  had  ridden  with  the 
Christine  general,  and  as  soon  as  he  saw  that  the  battle  was 
lost  he  rode  away. 

"  It  is  quite  evident,  Roper,"  he  said,  "  that  the  Christinos 
do  not  fight  so  well  as  the  Carlists.  They  seem  to  be  plucky, 
too,  but  the  Carlists  fight  with  greater  fury.  They  have 
much  less  discipline,  but  they  hurl  themselves  upon  their  foes 
with  such  a  disregard  for  death  that  there  is  no  withstand- 
ing them.  Now,  our  fellows  beat  the  Carlists  at  their  own 
game;  they  were  equally  ready  to  go  at  the  enemy,  and  had 


A   GOOD   SERVICE  163 

a  good  deal  more  discipline.  It  is  evidently  useless  for  us 
to  remain  here.  Cabrera  won't  observe  the  Conventions,  and 
kills  every  officer  who  falls  into  his  hands.  The  Christines 
would  be  quite  willing  to  show  mercy,  but  they  don't  often 
get  the  chance  of  doing  so.  We  will  go  up  to  Madrid  and 
report  to  Colonel  Wylde,  who  will,  I  dare  say,  be  back  by  the 
time  we  get  there." 

"  I  sha'n't  be  sorry,  sir,  for  it  is  not  pleasant  being  with 
troops  who  always  get  licked.  It  seems  to  me,  sir,  that  the 
Carlists  are  likely  to  win  in  the  long  run." 

"  I  don't  think  so,  Eoper.  You  see,  they  will  never  remain 
long  in  the  field.  Their  villages  are  everywhere  in  the  moun- 
tains, and  they  can't  be  kept  together  any  time,  for  there  is 
the  difficulty  of  provisions.  They  rush  down,  defeat  or  avoid 
the  Christinos,  and  collect  a  considerable  amount  of  spoil, 
and  then  go  off  to  their  homes  again.  They  are  a  sort  of 
semi-organized  guerillas,  and  although  guerillas  can  main- 
tain warfare  for  a  long  time,  they  must  in  the  long  run  be 
defeated.  They  have  been  fortunate  in  having  wonderfully 
active  leaders.  They  first  of  all  had  Zumalacarreguy,  and 
now  they  have  Cabrera,  both  of  whom  have  the  faculty  of 
inspiring  their  men  with  an  intense  enthusiasm  and  a  will- 
ingness to  endure  all  hardship.  But  neither  of  these  gen- 
erals has  succeeded  in  introducing  anything  like  discipline, 
and  though  splendid  guerilla  chiefs,  they  are  not  the  men 
for  moulding  a  whole  people  into  regular  soldiers." 

Two  days  after  his  return  to  Madrid,  Arthur  was  de- 
lighted to  see  Leon  enter  his  room.  He  still  looked  pale  and 
thin,  but  his  expression  was  bright  and  cheerful. 

"  Well,  old  Paladin,"  he  exclaimed,  "  here  I  am,  well  and 
getting  strong  again.  We  have  travelled  by  easy  stages,  and 
taken  ten  days  to  come  from  Albacete." 

"  That  is  right.  I  felt  sure  that  when  you  had  nothing 
to  do  but  eat  and  drink  you  would  soon  pick  up  again.  And' 
your  sister,  I  hope  she  has  recovered  also  ? " 

"Partly,  not  altogether.    I  hope  she  has  given  up  the 


164  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION" 

idea  of  becoming  a  religieuse.  It  would  be  a  thousand  pities 
if  she  were  to  shut  herself  up  in  a  convent,  and  I  am  sure  she 
would  bitterly  regret  it  afterwards.  She  has  had  a  great 
shock,  of  course,  but  the  effect  will  pass  off  in  time.  I  could 
see  that  it  was  a  great  relief  to  her  when  she  received  an 
answer  from  Don  Silvio  releasing  her  from  her  engagement. 
It  was  written  in  excellent  language,  and  was  really  irre- 
proachable in  tone;  but  between  ourselves  I  don't  think  his 
feelings  were  very  deeply  touched.  She  has  certainly  picked 
up  faster  since  she  received  it.  She  broke  down  a  good  deal 
when  we  arrived  to-day,  and  she  had  her  sisters  and  Donna 
Martha  to  cry  over  and  coddle  her.  I  won't  ask  you  to 
come  to  us  this  evening.  I  think  she  had  better  be  quiet. 
What  have  you  been  doing  since  you  left  us  ? " 

Arthur  gave  an  account  of  his  journeying. 

"  I  am  thinking,"  the  count  said,  "  of  raising  two  com- 
panies from  among  the  tenants  of  my  estate  near  Seville.  I 
shall  not  be  happy  until  I  have  crossed  swords  with  that  fel- 
low Cabrera." 

"I  can  understand  that.  But,  you  see,  Cabrera  is  not  a 
fellow  to  be  found  so  easily;  he  is  here  to-day  and  gone 
to-morrow;  strikes  a  blow  in  one  place,  and  then  two  days 
afterwards  falls  upon  a  column  a  hundred  miles  away.  I 
think,  Leon,  if  I  were  you  I  would  give  up  the  idea.  You 
have  everything  that  one  can  wish  for;  you  are  rich,  and 
popular,  and  happy  in  your  family.  It  is  all  very  well  for 
people  who  want  the  pay  and  position  of  generals  to  go  into 
the  army,  but  you  have  nothing  to  gain  by  it.  And  at  any 
rate,  as  long  as  your  party  hold  their  own  against  the  Car- 
lists,  I  don't  see  that  you  have  any  business  to  put  on  a 
uniform." 

"Every  word  you  say  is  as  applicable  to  yourself  as  it  is 
to  me.  This  is  no  affair  of  yours.  It  doesn't  matter  a  snap 
of  the  finger  to  you  whether  Don  Carlos  or  Christina  reigns 
in  Spain." 

"  That  is  true  enough,  but  I  have  got  my  living  to  get.  I 
like  the  life  and  excitement." 


A   GOOD   SERVICE  165 

"  That  is  well  enough  at  present,  but  this  war  is  not  going 
to  last  for  ever." 

"  No ;  and  if  it  were,  I  should  not  remain  out  here.  I  have 
some  years  to  kill.  When  that  is  over,  I  shall  go  home  and 
live  on  my  own  land." 

"  Oh,  I  didn't  know  you  had  land ;  you  never  told  me  so." 

"  No,  Leon,  I  am  not  given  to  talk  about  my  own  private 
affairs.  I  was  wild  as  a  boy,  and  my  father  thought  it  was 
well  that  I  should  not  come  into  my  fortune  until  I  arrived 
at  years  of  discretion,  and  he  very  wisely  tied  it  up  so  that 
I  could  not  touch  it  until  then.  I  don't  mean  that  I  shall 
ever  be  a  great  magnate  as  you  are,  but  I  shall  have  a  very 
nice  estate,  which  will  be  all  the  larger  for  having  waited 
fifteen  years  for  me." 

"  I  am  very  glad  to  hear  it,  very  glad ;  though  it  does  seem 
to  me  very  hard  that  you  should  be  kept  so  long  out  of  it. 
Still,  I  am  the  last  who  ought  to  complain,  for  if  you  had 
not  been  obliged  to  become  a  sort  of  knight-errant  I  should 
have  lost  my  sister." 

"  Nor  have  I  anything  to  grumble  at,  though  I  do  wish  I 
had  remained  at  school  a  couple  of  years  longer  and  finished 
my  education." 

"  Education !  "  Leon  laughed ;  "  you  must  have  done  with 
that  long  ago." 

"  I  am  not  so  old  as  I  look,"  Arthur  said. 

"  Well,  you  look  as  old  as  I  do,  anyhow." 

"  I  am  not  so  old  by  a  good  many  years.  I  won't  tell  you 
how  many,  for  I  don't  want  to  be  treated  like  a  little  boy." 

"  I  don't  think  I  should  do  that  if  you  said  that  you  were 
only  ten." 

"Well,  I  can  tell  you,  as  a  great  secret,  that  I  am  more 
than  ten." 

"  Well,"  Leon  said,  getting  up  with  a  laugh,  "  now  I  must 
be  off.  Mercedes,  who  has  developed  into  a  regular  tyrant, 
only  gave  me  leave  to  come  out  on  condition  that  I  would 
not  stop  more  than  five  minutes,  and  if  it  had  been  anybody 


166  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

but  yourself  she  would  not  have  let  me  come  at  all;  not,  I 
think,  even  if  the  Queen  Kegent  had  sent  for  me." 

"  She  is  quite  right,  Leon,  though  I  should  like  to  keep 
you  here ;  but  I  am  sure  that  after  riding  in  here  this  morn- 
ing you  ought  not  to  have  moved  out  again.  Well,  I  will 
walk  with  you  back  to  your  own  door." 

Arthur,  on  calling  on  the  following  morning,  was  received 
with  great  enthusiasm  by  Mercedes'  two  younger  sisters,  with 
whom  he  had  become  a  great  favourite,  and  also  by  the 
young  count.  Mercedes,  however,  seemed  painfully  shy  with 
him. 

"  I  don't  think  I  shall  ever  feel  comfortable  with  you  again, 
senor,"  she  said  with  a  great  effort.  "I  feel  quite  over- 
powered with  the  sense  of  what  I  owe  you." 

"  Then,  senora,  you  will  oblige  me  to  regret  that  I  ever 
interfered  in  your  behalf,"  Arthur  said  with  a  smile.  "  The 
sooner  you  get  that  idea  out  of  your  head  the  sooner  I  shall 
feel  comfortable  again.  It  was  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to 
be  of  service  to  you,  but  you  will  take  the  pleasure  out  of 
it  altogether  if  you  are  going  to  be  unnatural  with  me." 

"But  I  can't  help  it,"  she  said. 

"  Then  I  sha'n't  rescue  you  another  time  when  you  get 
into  a  scrape.  Once  I  picked  a  young  cousin  of  mine  out 
of  the  water.  The  ice  was  thin,  and  I  had  no  right  to  take 
her  on;  but  as  I  scarcely  ever  did  what  was  right  I  took 
her,  and  she  went  through.  Of  course  I  went  in  after  her, 
and  we  were  both  nearly  drowned.  Well,  I  did  not  hear  the 
last  of  that  for  a  long  time;  it  was  always  being  thrown  up 
in  my  teeth,  till  I  declared  that  I  would  never  take  a  girl  out 
skating  again.  And  now  it  seems  that  you  are  going  to 
make  it  just  as  disagreeable  for  me." 

The  girl  laughed. 

"Well,  I  will  really  try  hard  not  to.  I  will  tell  myself 
that  anyone  else  would  have  done  just  the  same  as  you  did, 
and  that  there  was  no  danger  in  it,  and  that  it  was  altogether 
a  most  commonplace  affair." 


A   GOOD   SERVICE  167 

"  Good !  "  he  said.  "  That  will  make  us  both  much  more 
comfortable." 

"  And  how  old  was  this  cousin  of  yours  ? " 

"  Two  years  younger  than  I  was.  That  was  the  last  time 
we  had  a  bit  of  fun  together.  My  aunt  entertained  the  idea 
that  I  was  making  the  girls  into  regular  tomboys,  and  I  don't 
think  they  ever  went  out  with  me  again  afterwards.  I  am 
afraid  I  was  not  so  sorry  as  I  ought  to  have  been  at  losing 
their  society,  for  I  was  getting  to  the  evil  age  when  boys 
think  girls  rather  nuisances." 

"  And  what  age  may  that  be,  senor  ? "  one  of  the  younger 
girls  asked  with  a  laugh. 

"Well,  in  England  I  think  it  begins  about  fourteen  and 
lasts  till  about  twenty." 

"  Oh,  then  we  may  flatter  ourselves  that  you  will  not  re- 
gard us  as  nuisances." 

"  No ;  you  are  very  well-behaved  little  girls,  and  you  don't 
expect  me  to  play  with  you." 

"  Play  with  us,  indeed ! "  the  girl  said  scornfully ;  "  I 
should  think  not.  Why,  I  am  fifteen." 

"A  very  grave  and  reverent  age,  senorina.  I  have  not 
got  my  hat  on,  or  I  would  take  it  off  to  you  in  token  of  my 
respect,  not  to  say  veneration." 

"  How  different  you  are  from  Spaniards ! "  the  girl  said. 
"  A  young  Spanish  gentleman  would  lift  his  hat  courteously 
if  he  passed  us  in  the  street,  but,  unless  he  were  very,  very 
intimate,  would  hardly  think  of  speaking  to  us  even  in  the 
house,  whereas  you  actually  laugh  at  us  and  make  fun  of  us. 
I  have  to  laugh  sometimes  when  I  think  I  ought  to  be  very 
indignant." 

"You  should  practise  looking  indignant  before  a  glass, 
senorina,  else  I  am  afraid  it  would  be  a  failure  and  I  should 
not  be  properly  impressed.  Now,  Donna  Mercedes,"  he  said, 
turning  to  her,  "  I  hope  you  have  found  Leon  a  very  good 
patient." 

"  He  was  very  good  the  first  fortnight,  but  after  that  he 


168  WITH  THE  BEITISH  LEGION 

was  by  no  means  so  easy  to  manage.  I  had  very  often  to 
appeal  to  Donna  Martha,  and  sometimes  he  absolutely  set  her 
at  defiance." 

"At  any  rate  he  has  done  credit  to  your  nursing." 

Then  they  settled  down  for  a  quiet  talk,  and  Arthur  heard 
how  they  had  at  first  travelled  by  very  short  stages,  and  had 
gradually  increased  the  length  of  the  journeys. 

"  It  was  very  tedious,"  Leon  said,  "  and  I  could  have  come 
a  good  deal  faster  if  I  had  been  allowed.  And  now  about 
yourself :  I  suppose  you  came  back  a  fortnight  ago  ? " 

"No;  I  only  came  back  the  day  before  you.  I  changed 
my  mind  and  went  down  to  Tortosa,  as  I  heard  that  a  battle 
was  imminent  there,  and  to  my  disgust  I  saw  the  Christinos 
utterly  routed  by  Cabrera.  Fortunately  the  Carlists  were 
not  strong  in  cavalry ;  if  they  had  been,  the  Koyalists  would 
have  been  entirely  destroyed." 

After  chatting  for  some  time  longer  he  took  his  leave.  In 
half  an  hour  he  returned. 

"I  have  just  heard  very  bad  news.  I  can  assure  you  it 
is  very  serious.  You  know  that  Don  Carlos  completely  de- 
feated General  Buerens  at  Herrera,  killing  ninety-two  offi- 
cers and  inflicting  a  loss  of  two  thousand  six  hundred  men 
killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners.  Espartero  hurried  up  to  re- 
join Oraa.  The  Carlists  affected  to  retreat,  but  really  joined 
Cabrera,  gave  Espartero  the  slip,  and  are  this  morning  within 
four  leagues  of  Madrid." 

An  exclamation  of  dismay  broke  from  his  hearers. 

"  And  we  have  no  troops  here !  " 

"None  but  the  Urban  Guards,  who  have  just  been  called 
out;  but  I  should  say  they  could  not  stand  an  hour  before  a 
Carlist  attack ;  and,  moreover,  there  are,  as  you  know,  a  large 
number  of  Carlist  sympathizers  who  will  be  certain  to  rise 
as  soon  as  they  attack  the  walls." 

"  Then  I  had  better  send  the  ladies  off  at  once,"  Leon  said, 
rising  to  his  feet ;  "  if  they  leave  the  other  side  of  the  city 
they  may  get  away." 


A  GOOD   SERVICE  169 

"I  think  it  would  be  safer  for  them  to  stay  here;  the 
Carlist  cavalry  may  be  round  the  town  in  a  couple  of  hours. 
They  might  be  cut  off,  so  that  they  would  certainly  be  safer 
here.  It  is  true  that  Cabrera  is  with  Don  Carlos,  but  he 
will  not  be  supreme,  as  the  latter  would,  I  am  convinced,  re- 
strain his  cruelty.  He  would  know  well  enough  that  noth- 
ing could  be  worse  for  his  cause  than  for  his  entry  into  his 
capital  to  be  marked  by  scenes  of  bloodshed.  I  think  the 
greatest  danger  will  be  from  a  rising  of  the  mob  before  the 
Carlists  enter,  and  I  should  strongly  advise  you  to  arm  all 
your  men,  to  barricade  all  the  windows  not  protected  by  bars, 
and  prepare  to  beat  off  any  assault.  The  house  is  very  strong 
and  solid,  and  the  mob  would  hardly  be  able  to  capture  it 
in  the  face  of  a  firm  resistance,  for  we  may  calculate  that 
Don  Carlos  will  enter  the  town  within  an  hour  at  most  after 
any  disturbance  breaks  out  here." 

"  I  will  have  it  done  at  once." 

"  I  would  certainly  set  about  it.  It  is  scarcely  likely  that 
Don  Carlos  will  be  before  the  town  till  to-morrow  morning, 
which  will  give  you  ample  time  to  make  your  preparations. 
How  many  men  have  you  ? " 

"  With  the  stablemen  and  all,  I  have  eighteen." 

"That  should  be  sufficient.  I  will  help  you  to  set  them 
to  work,  and  will  then  go  out  into  the  town  and  bring  you 
in  the  latest  news."- 

The  men  were  at  once  collected.  Leon  sent  some  of  them 
out  to  buy  some  crowbars,  and  set  them  to  work  to  get  up 
the  paving-stones  in  the  hall  and  the  yard,  and  with  these  to 
block  up  all  the  windows  on  the  ground  floor.  When  they 
had  fairly  begun  Arthur  went  out,  and  finding  Roper,  asked 
him  to  saddle  the  horses;  and,  having  done  that,  rode  out 
to  see  the  state  of  things  prevailing.  The  streets  were  in  an 
uproar.  Some  of  the  people  appeared  almost  out  of  their 
minds  with  fear,  and  the  dreaded  name  of  Cabrera  was  on 
everyone's  lips.  A  large  mob  had  assembled  before  the  head- 
quarters of  government,  and  with  many  gestures  abused  the 


170  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

ministers  for  leaving  the  capital  undefended.  Others  among 
the  crowd  with  difficulty  concealed  their  exultation.  Many 
of  the  public  offices  were  pelted  with  stones.  A  deputation 
of  influential  citizens  went  to  the  palace  and  had  an  inter- 
view with  Christina,  who  maintained  a  firm  countenance, 
and  told  them  that  Espartero  with  his  army  was  following 
hard  on  the  track  of  Don  Carlos,  and  that  the  city  would  at 
most  have  to  resist  for  a  few  hours. 

Presently  there  was  a  rush  to  the  walls,  and  the  Carlist 
cavalry  could  be  seen  galloping  towards  the  town.  Arthur 
mounted  his  horse  and,  followed  by  Roper,  rode  to  the  gate 
towards  which  the  horsemen  were  approaching.  A  regiment 
of  the  Urban  Guards  was  drawn  up  here.  He  rode  up  to 
the  colonel,  who  was  personally  known  to  him.  "  Colonel," 
he  said,  "may  I  suggest  to  you  that  if  you  were  to  lead 
your  men  outside,  they  could  drive  off  the  Carlist  cavalry? 
They  could  not  stand  against  infantry,  and  would  probably 
ride  off  after  a  short  exchange  of  shots ;  and  the  result  would 
greatly  raise  the  spirits  of  the  townspeople,  and  perhaps  lead 
them  to  decide  upon  their  making  a  resistance.  Of  course 
I  have  not  a  shadow  of  authority,  but  as  one  of  the  British 
commissioners  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  point  out  to  you  the 
very  great  advantage  of  such  a  step.  I  am  ready  myself  to 
ride  out  with  you  and  take  my  share  in  the  fighting." 

"  I  will  do  it,  sir,"  the  colonel  answered.  "  I  see  the  truth 
of  what  you  say." 

He  addressed  a  few  words  to  the  men,  and  then,  ordering 
the  gates  to  be  thrown  open,  marched  out  leading  the  regi- 
ment, Arthur  riding  beside  him.  The  cavalry  were  but  four 
hundred  yards  away,  and  as  the  infantry  marched  out  they 
formed  up  in  companies  and  opened  fire  upon  the  horsemen. 
The  latter  answered  in  a  straggling  and  undetermined  man- 
ner, and  then  in  two  or  three  minutes  turned  and  rode  off. 

"I  congratulate  you,  sefior,"  Arthur  said.  "I  think  it  is 
quite  probable  that  you  have  saved  the  capital.  The  troop- 
ers will  carry  back  word  that  the  garrison  are  determined  to 


A    GOOD   SERVICE  171 

resist.  This  is  sure  to  cause  hesitation  in  the  councils  of 
Don  Carlos,  and  we  may  feel  certain  that  at  least  for  to-day 
nothing  will  be  done,  and  every  hour  that  passes  will  bring 
Espartero  nearer  to  our  assistance." 

The  regiment  were  enthusiastically  cheered  as  they  re- 
turned to  the  city,  and  they  received  a  great  ovation  as  they 
entered  the  Puerto  del  Sol,  the  great  square  of  the  town. 
The  minister  of  war  himself  came  down  and  thanked  the 
colonel,  and  bestowed  upon  him  the  rank  of  general.  The 
latter  generously  said  that  he  had  acted  in  accordance  with 
the  advice  given  him  by  the  British  commissioner,  that  he 
would  not  have  thought  of  taking  the  step  but  for  that  ad- 
vice, and  that  the  British  officer  had  ridden  out  with  him. 
Thereupon  Arthur,  who  had,  when  he  entered  the  city,  gone 
off  to  his  lodging,  was  sent  for,  and  received  the  formal  thanks 
of  the  minister.  This  incident  seemed  to  greatly  inspirit  the 
defenders;  the  noisy  crowds  now  dispersed,  and  preparations 
for  the  defence  were  carried  on  vigorously. 

After  leaving  the  Ministry  Arthur  went  back  to  aid  the 
count  in  his  preparations.  Already  a  great  deal  had  been 
done,  and  by  evening  the  house  was  placed  in  a  position  to 
make  a  stout  defence  against  any  attack  by  an  undisciplined 
force. 

In  the  afternoon  the  count  went  out  for  a  short  time,  and 
on  his  return  said  -  to  his  sisters:  "Young  ladies,  you  will 
please  salute  the  hidalgo,  Captain  Arthur  Hallett,  as  the 
saviour  of  this  city.  He  told  us  he  had  been  out  through 
the  gate  with  a  regiment  that  went  and  fired  a  few  shots  at 
the  Carlist  cavalry;  but  it  now  appears  that  it  was  he  who 
advised  the  officer  in  command  of  the  regiment  to  go  out, 
and  that  he  gallantly  rode  with  the  colonel  at  their  head,  for 
which  service  he  has  been  publicly  thanked  by  the  minister  of 
war." 

"  Yes,  and  I  was  ashamed  of  being  thanked,"  Arthur  said. 
"I  went  to  have  a  look  at  the  Carlist  cavalry.  Seeing  a 
regiment  of  infantry  at  the  gate,  I  suggested  to  the  colonel 


172  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

that  it  would  be  a  good  thing  to  go  out  and  drive  them  off, 
as  even  a  little  thing  like  that  would  tend  to  restore  confi- 
dence; so  we  went  out  and  fired  half  a  dozen  volleys.  The 
Carlists  fired  a  few  shots  in  return  and  made  off.  There  is 
the  beginning  and  the  end  of  it." 

"  At  any  rate,  Arthur,  everyone  at  the  club  agreed  that  it 
has  had  a  great  effect  in  restoring  confidence.  The  crowd 
demonstrating  in  front  of  the  various  Ministries  dispersed. 
Many  of  the  men  who  had  absented  themselves  from  the 
muster  of  their  companies  have  now  joined  them,  and  it 
seems  probable  that  if  Don  Carlos  attacks  us  to-morrow, 
which  everyone  supposes  he  will  do,  a  stout  defence  will  be 
made." 

"  Well,  I  dare  say  it  may  have  had  that  effect,  Leon.  That 
is  just  what  I  expected  when  I  suggested  the  move,  but  it 
is  nonsense  to  make  such  a  fuss  about  it ;  and  it  was  as  much 
as  I  could  do  not  to  laugh  in  the  minister's  face  when  he 
talked  about  it  as  a  very  valiant  business." 

"  I  think,  seriously,  Arthur,  that  the  affair  may  have  a 
good  deal  of  consequence.  Probably  the  cavalry  were  sent 
on  to  ascertain  the  disposition  of  the  town,  and  see  whether 
it  was  likely  to  surrender  without  a  blow;  and  the  fact  that 
this  little  sortie  was  made  will  give  the  idea  that  we  are 
prepared  for  a  desperate  resistance.  Everyone  knows  that 
Don  Carlos  is  a  man  who  can  never  quite  make  up  his  mind, 
and  several  men  at  the  club  agree  in  thinking  that  it  is  quite 
possible  he  may  march  away  again  without  attempting  any- 
thing." 

"  If  he  does,  Leon,  it  will  be  a  death-blow  to  his  own 
cause.  By  throwing  Espartero  off  his  track,  effecting  a  junc- 
tion with  Cabrera,  and  marching  within  striking  distance 
of  the  capital,  he  has  got  an  opportunity  that  he  will  never 
have  again.  He  ought  to  have  attacked  to-day.  The  news 
that  he  had  captured  Madrid  would  have  roused  his  par- 
tisans to  great  enthusiasm,  and  brought  all  the  doubters  over 
to  his  side;  whereas,  if  he  throws  away  this  opportunity  he 


A   GOOD  SERVICE  173 

will  disgust  the  men  who  have  cyme  so  far  from  their  homes, 
will  'certainly  infuriate  Cabrera,  and  will  show  that  he  is 
utterly  unfit  to  be  the  head  of  a  well-nigh  desperate  cause." 

All  night  the  work  of  preparation  went  on.  Cannon  were 
got  out  of  the  arsenal  and  mounted  in  commanding  posi- 
tions. The  gates  were  blocked  up  with  stones,  ammunition 
piled  on  the  walls,  and  the  whole  population  toiled  at  mak- 
ing preparations  for  defence.  In  the  morning  every  point 
from  which  a  view  over  the  country  could  be  obtained  was 
thronged  in  anticipation  of  seeing  the  enemy  advancing,  but 
to  the  general  delight  the  plain  seemed  to  be  absolutely  de- 
serted. Very  speedily  a  party  of  mounted  gentlemen  sallied 
out  from  one  of  the  gates,  and  rode  out  to  reconnoitre  the 
country.  Arthur  went  with  them.  They  rode  to  within  two 
miles  of  the  Carlist  camp,  but  no  signs  of  movement  were 
discernible.  They  watched  for  three  hours.  At  the  end  of 
that  time  they  saw  the  royal  tent  and  those  around  it  low- 
ered, and  an  hour  later  could  make  out  the  whole  army  draw- 
ing off.  With  exultant  shouts  they  mounted  and  rode  back 
to  the  city,  where  their  news  excited  a  wild  enthusiasm.  The 
fickle  crowd  shouted  and  applauded  the  ministers  as  furiously 
as  they  had  the  morning  before  denounced  them.  Leon  had, 
to  his  great  disgust,  to  abandon  the  idea  of  joining  the  party 
riding  out,  and  had  awaited  at  home  the  return  of  Arthur 
with  the  news. 

"They  have  gone!"  Arthur  exclaimed  as  he  ran  up- 
stairs. 

"Gone?" 

"Yes!   horse,  foot,  and  baggage." 

"Exit  Don  Carlos!"  the  count  shouted.  "Yesterday  he 
literally  had  the  game  in  his  hands,  to-day  he  has  thrown  it 
away.  There,  girls,  please  each  make  a  curtsy  to  Don 
Arthur,  he  has  saved  Spain." 

"  What  ridiculous  nonsense,  Leon ! "  Arthur  said  almost 
angrily. 

"It  is  good  sober  sense?  and  not  nonsense  at  all.    Don 


174  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

Carlos  had  no  doubt  been  asfiurecPthat  he  had  only  to  elude 
the  armies  in  the  field,  and  snow  himself  before  Madrid,  when 
the  town  would  open  its  gates  to  him,  and  the  authorities 
come  out  to  surrender  the  capital.  The  fact  that  the  troops 
sallied  out  and  attacked  his  cavalry  has  completely  over- 
thrown his  hopes.  I  believe  that  the  town  would  have  sur- 
rendered without  resistance  if  he  had  marched  straight  on 
yesterday.  To-day  it  would  have  fought,  but  it  could  not 
have  offered  any  strong  resistance.  The  walls  are  rotten, 
and  the  Carlist  cannon  would  have  made  a  breach  in  them  in 
no  time.  In  fact,  I  don't  suppose  they  would  have  troubled 
to  do  that,  but  would  have  carried  the  place  by  storm.  Now 
the  chance  has  gone,  and  for  ever;  for  after  this  fiasco  he  will 
never  be  able  to  persuade  the  mountaineers  to  make  this  long 
march  again.  They  may  go  on  fighting  for  a  long  time  be- 
fore the  thing  is  over,  but  we  shall  never  see  the  Carlist  army 
before  Madrid  again.  Call  it  a  happy  inspiration  if  you  like, 
my  friend,  but  it  was  a  happy  inspiration  that  saved  the 
Christino  cause." 

An  hour  later  a  royal  messenger  came  to  the  house,  saying 
that  on  calling  at  the  English  officer's  lodging  he  was  told 
that  he  should  probably  find  him  at  Count  de  Balen's,  and, 
that  the  queen  regent  desired  his  attendance  at  the  palace. 

"  I  have  led  my  first  and  last  sortie,"  Arthur  exclaimed 
in  a  tone  of  despair.  "  As  far  as  I  am  concerned,  the  Car- 
lists  may  occupy  Madrid  without  my  moving  from  my  rooms 
to  prevent  them.  Was  there  ever  such  a  fuss  made  over  such 
a  ridiculous  affair?  Still,  I  suppose  I  must  go." 

"  Of  course  you  must  go,"  Leon  said.  "  Don't  be  foolish, 
Arthur!  You  can  insist  on  getting  off  being  thanked  by 
Mercedes  and  me,  but  there  is  no  getting  off  being  thanked 
by  the  queen." 

With  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders  Arthur  went  down-stairs 
and,  mounting  his  horse,  rode  by  the  side  of  the  mounted 
messenger  to  the  palace.  Here  he  was  at  once  escorted  to 
the  apartment  of  the  queen  regent.  A  number  of  her  min- 


A  .GOOD   SEKVICE  175 

isters  were  gathered  there.  By  her  side  was  the  little  Queen 
Isabella,  a  child  of  between  five  and  six  years  old.  Her  min- 
ister of  war  stepped  forward,  and  taking  Arthur's  hand,  led 
him  up  to  the  two  queens. 

"  Your  majesty,"  he  said,  "  I  beg  to  present  to  you  Cap- 
tain Arthur  Hallett,  one  of  Her  Britannic  Majesty's  com- 
missioners. I  have  already  had  the  honour  to  inform  you 
that  to  him  it  is  due  that  Colonel,  now  General  de  Layer, 
conceived  the  idea  of  leading  out  on  his  own  responsibility 
his  regiment,  which  was  on  guard,  against  the  Carlist  cav- 
alry. He  accompanied  the  colonel  at  the  head  of  his  regi- 
ment, and  they  drove  off  the  Carlist  cavalry  with  loss.  It 
is  doubtless  largely  due  to  that  proof  of  the  courage  and  res- 
olution of  her  majesty's  troops  that  the  Pretender  aban- 
doned his  idea  of  attacking  the  town,  and  has  marched  away 
with  his  force — a  confession  of  defeat  which  will  undoubt- 
edly have  a  very  desirable  effect  in  establishing  your  daughter 
on  the  throne,  by  animating  your  faithful  followers  through- 
out the  country,  and  by  dispiriting  those  of  Don  Carlos." 

Queen  Christina  held  out  her  hand  to  Arthur,  who,  not 
being  sure  of  what  was  the  right  thing  to  do,  knelt  on  one 
knee  and  kissed  it.  "  Give  this  gentleman  your  hand,"  the 
queen  said  to  the  child ;  "  he  has  done  you  a  very,  very  great 
service." 

The  child  did  as  she  was  told,  and  said :  "  Thank  you ;  I 
think  I  shall  like  you  very  much." 

"I  am  told  also,  Captain  Hallett,"  Christina  said,  "that 
you  performed  an  act  of  extreme  valour  which  is  at  present 
the  talk  of  our  court,  namely,  that  you  went  alone  into  the 
camp  of  Cabrera  and  effected  the  rescue,  from  that  ruthless 
leader,  of  the  sister  of  Count  Leon  de  Balen,  who  had  been 
condemned  to  death  by  him — an  act  which  in  itself  stamps 
you  as  an  officer  of  the  most  distinguished  bravery.  Taking 
into  consideration  that  act,  performed  on  behalf  of  a  sister 
of  a  nobleman  of  our  court,  and  the  service  you  have  now 
performed  for  us,  I  have  pleasure  in  handing  you  the  Cross 


1TC  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION" 

of  the  First  Class  of  San  Fernando  and  Knight  of  Isabella 
the  Catholic." 

"I  thank  your  majesty  most  deeply  for  the  honour  you 
have  been  pleased  to  bestow  upon  me,  and  which  I  feel  I 
have  done  little  indeed  to  deserve." 

"  That  is  for  my  counsellors  and  for  myself  to  judge,  Cap- 
tain Hallett,"  she  said  graciously.  "I  trust  that  we  shall 
see  you  sometimes  at  our  court." 

Arthur  then  retired,  the  court  chamberlain  having  placed 
round  his  neck  the  sash  and  insignia  of  the  Order.  "  I  sup- 
pose I  must  wear  this  thing,"  he  said  as  he  went  back,  "  but 
it  is  really  too  ridiculous.  I  don't  say  that  the  action  had 
not  an  effect,  no  doubt  it  had;  but  there  was  nothing  in  the 
doing  of  it." 

He  had  promised  Leon  to  return  and  tell  him  what  the 
queen  said  to  him,  and  he  went  up  to  the  drawing-room  with 
quite  a  rueful  expression  on  his  face.  The  girls  were  still 
there  with  their  brother,  and  as  he  entered  with  the  deco- 
ration all  clapped  their  hands. 

"  It  is  all  very  well  for  you  to  applaud,"  he  said,  "  but  it 
makes  me  feel  downright  ridiculous.  If  I  had  done  anything 
worth  doing,  I  don't  say  that  I  should  not  feel  gratified  at 
such  an  honour,  but  for  merely  saying  '  Let's  come  out  and 
fire  a  few  shots'  it  is  absurd." 

"It  is  you  that  are  absurd,  Arthur,"  Leon  said,  laughing. 
"Now  please  tell  us  exactly  what  her  majesty  said.  Ex- 
actly." 

"  Well,  she  said  that  I  had  done  her  great  service,  and  then 
that  she  had  heard  also  about  my  rescue  of  Donna  Mercedes, 
and  that  for  that  service,  performed  for  the  sister  of  a  noble- 
man of  her  court,  and  for  the  service  done  to  herself,  she 
bestowed  this  honour  upon  me." 

"I  am  glad,"  Mercedes  said  in  a  tone  of  delight.  "You 
would  not  let  us  thank  you,  but  you  have  been  thanked  by 
Queen  Christina.  I  am  pleased  more  than  I  can  say." 

"  So  am  I,"  Leon  said,  shaking  hands  heartily  with  him. 


A   GOOD   SEKVICE  177 

"  It  is  very  good  of  you  to  say  so,  Leon,"  Arthur  said  in  a 
depressed  tone ;  "  and  I  don't  say  that  I  shouldn't  value  the 
honour  immensely  if  I  had  really  done  any  exceptionally 
brave  thing.  Thank  goodness !  I  shall  only  have  to  wear  this 
ribbon  and  star  on  very  special  occasions." 

"Yes;  but  you  will  always  have  to  wear  the  rosette,  you 
must  remember  that.  In  this  country  you  are  now  the  Cava- 
lier Arthur  Hallett,  with  a  right  of  entry  to  the  royal  court 
at  all  times,  and  many  other  privileges,  concerning  which  I 
will  make  enquiry  and  inform  you." 

Arthur  laughed  uneasily.  "  It  is  all  very  well  for  you  to 
joke  about  it,  Leon,  but  I  can  assure  you  that  I  find  it  rather 
a  heavy  infliction." 

"  You  should  not,"  Leon  said  earnestly.  "  It  is  a  real 
honour,  and,  let  me  tell  you,  a  high  one;  and  to  us  it  is  a 
special  and  very  great  pleasure  that  the  service  you  did  us 
has  been  considered  in  the  bestowal  of  it  upon  you." 

"  Well,  I  won't  grumble  any  more,  and  will  specially  re- 
gard it  as  a  souvenir  of  the  service  I  was  enabled  to  render 
to  your  sister,  which  it  will  be  one  of  my  greatest  pleasures 
to  remember  all  my  life." 

"  That  is  well  spoken,"  Leon  said ;  "  and,  like  yourself,  I 
can  assure  you  that  it  is  an  immense  pleasure  to  us  that  al- 
though we  are  powerless  to  show  the  gratitude  we  owe  you, 
the  action  has  been  recognized  by  our  queen." 

"  And  now,  Leon,"  Arthur  said,  to  turn  the  conversation, 
"you  have  all  the  work  of  putting  down  your  pavements 
again." 

"  Yes.  As  I  don't  think  we  shall  hear  Don  Carlos  knock- 
ing at  our  doors  again,  I  have  already  set  the  men  to  work, 
and  we  shall  soon  have  things  tidy  once  more." 

"  Well  now,  I  will  be  going,  Leon." 

"  Well,  don't  forget  that  you  are  engaged  to  dine  here  to- 
day. We  shall  have  quite  a  gathering  to  celebrate  our  re- 
turn." 


178  WITH   THE   BKITISH  LEGION 

CHAPTER  XI 

A    THWARTED    PLOT 

SPARTERO  marched  in  on  the  following  day,  and  after 
spending  three  days  in  resting  and  refitting  his  army, 
started  on  the  17th  of  September  in  pursuit  of  Don  Carlos, 
and,  pressing  upon  his  rear,  obtained  the  welcome  news  that 
Cabrera,  utterly  disgusted  with  his  irresolution,  had  left  him 
with  his  command  and  gone  back  to  the  mountains.  Colonel 
Wylde  had  returned  on  the  day  after  Espartero  arrived. 

"  I  hear  you  have  been  doing  good  service,  Captain  Hal- 
lett,"  he  said,  when  Arthur  called  upon  him. 

"  The  service  was  really  nothing,  sir ;  it  was  not  worth 
talking  about.  Some  Carlist  cavalry  came  galloping  up 
against  one  of  the  gates,  and  as  there  was  a  regiment  of  the 
Urban  Guards  drawn  up  there,  I  advised  their  colonel  to  go 
out  and  drive  them  off.  He  took  my  advice,  and  went  out 
and  fired  two  volleys,  and  the  Carlists  bolted." 

"  Yes,  I  quite  admit  that  the  affair  was  unimportant  in 
itself;  but  there  can  be  equally  no  doubt  that  it  had  very 
wide  consequences.  No  doubt  Don  Carlos  sent  on  his  cav- 
alry in  hopes  that  the  town  would  open  its  gates  to  him,  as 
we  may  be  sure  his  partisans  had  promised  to  do.  When 
they  were  so  roughly  received,  he  imagined  that  he  had  been 
altogether  misinformed,  and  that  he  would  meet  with  a  des- 
perate resistance.  Knowing  how  close  Espartero  was  behind 
him,  he  concluded  that  he  would  not  be  able  to  capture  the 
place  before  that  general  arrived,  and  so  drew  off.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  his  hesitation  at  this  critical  moment 
has  sealed  his  fate.  He  will  never  get  the  Basques  to  come 
down  from  their  mountains  again.  I  am  told,  also,  that 
you  did  a  very  gallant  action  down  in  the  south,  and  it  was 
that  as  well  as  the  affair  here  that  induced  Christina  to  give 
you  the  Order  of  San  Fernando  and  knighthood.  I  shall 


A    THWAKTED    PLOT  179 

have  pleasure  in  recommending  to  the  government  at  home 
that  you  be  permitted  to  accept  and  wear  the  decorations, 
which  you  could  not  do  at  home  without  such  permission." 

"  I  certainly  should  not  want  to  wear  them  at  home.  They 
may  be  very  useful  to  me  in  this  country,  though  indeed  I 
should  hardly  like  to  wear  them  even  here,  for  I  have  cer- 
tainly done  nothing  to  deserve  such  honour.  I  shall  really 
be  glad,  sir,  if  you  will  send  me  off  again  as  speedily  as  pos- 
sible, for  I  shall  be  glad  to  escape  from  the  congratulations 
which  I  shall  have  to  receive  if  I  remain  in  Madrid." 

"  Things  are  likely  to  be  quiet  for  a  time,"  the  colonel 
said.  "  Espartero  has  applied  for  another  army  to  be  raised, 
but  the  ministry  are  so  jealous  of  him  that  there  is  little 
chance  that  the  request  will  be  granted,  and  he  will  have  to 
set  off  in  pursuit  of  Don  Carlos  with  but  a  small  force.  At 
present  the  real  point  of  interest  in  Spain  is  the  struggle  be- 
tween Espartero  and  the  government,  a  body  of  men  utterly 
incapable  and  wholly  corrupt.  Their  weakness  and  unpopu- 
larity constitute  the  greatest  danger  that  threatens  the  coun- 
try, now  that  Don  Carlos  has  retired.  I  have  the  honour  to 
be  in  the  confidence  of  Christina,  and  she  feels  deeply  the 
situation  in  which  she  is  placed  by  the  intrigues  and  jeal- 
ousies of  these  men.  Unfortunately  she  is  powerless  in  their 
hands,  and  can  only  endeavour  to  keep  matters  going,  and 
to  prevent  an  open  outbreak  between  the  various  par- 
ties. However,  as  you  want  to  get  away,  you  may  as 
well  go  with  Espartero;  I  will  introduce  you  to  him  to- 
morrow." 

"  Thank  you  very  much !  I  would  far  rather  be  moving 
about  than  staying  here,  for  I  feel  that  I  am  drawing  my 
pay  and  doing  very  little  for  it." 

The  colonel  smiled.  "  It  is  evident,  Hallett,  that  patience 
is  not  one  of  your  virtues.  You  have  just  been  away  for  two 
months,  and  only  returned  three  days  ago.  However,  I  can 
understand  that  Madrid  has  no  great  attractions  for  you,  and 
that  you  prefer  being  actively  employed.  I  have  seen  Espar- 


180  WITH   THE  BRITISH  LEGION 

tero  this  morning,  and  he  intends  to  start  again  in  two  days' 
time,  so  you  will  not  have  long  to  wait." 

Espartero  received  Arthur  warmly  when  Colonel  Wylde 
presented  him  on  the  following  day,  and  spoke  strongly  of 
the  service  he  had  rendered  in  getting  the  regiment  to  go 
out  and  meet  the  Carlist  horse.  "  I  wish,"  he  said,  "  that  I 
had  a  few  young  officers  ready  to  take  the  initiative.  There 
is  no  lack  of  bravery  among  my  troops ;  they  obey  orders  and 
fight  well,  but  I  have  to  see  to  everything  myself.  Doubt- 
less things  will  improve  in  time ;  and  I  think  that  this  action 
of  yours  may  have  some  influence  in  showing  the  officers  of 
the  army  that  opportunities  present  themselves  sometimes, 
when  even  the  youngest  can  make  their  mark.  I  shall  be 
very  glad  indeed  to  have  you  with  me,  and  I  trust  that  you 
will  consider  yourself  on  my  staff." 

"  Captain  Hallett  could  very  well  do  so,"  Colonel  Wylde 
said;  "the  alliance  is  becoming  closer  between  the  two  na- 
tions. British  marines  and  sailors  have  been  fighting  in  the 
north,  and  it  is  more  than  probable  that  a  force  of  regular 
troops  will  be  sent  from  England,  only  Captain  Hallett  must 
recollect  that  if  he  takes  any  active  part  in  an  engagement 
he  forfeits  his  privileges  as  a  British  commissioner,  and  will 
certainly  if  captured  be  treated  as  a  prisoner  of  war." 

"  I  am  quite  ready  to  risk  that,  sir,"  Arthur  said. 

"Yes;  but  you  must  bear  in  mind  that  I  must  at  any 
moment  be  able  to  recall  you  if  I  need  your  services  else- 
where." 

"  Certainly,  sir ;  I  shall  always  hold  myself  at  your  orders." 

Loud  regrets  were  expressed  by  Leon  and  his  sisters  when 
they  heard  that  their  friend  was  leaving  them  so  soon. 

"  You  can  do  us  good  service  here,  Leon,  if  you  choose." 

"  How  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Well,  it  is  clear  enough  that  the  ministry,  divided  as  they 
are  on  all  other  points,  are  united  in  their  jealousy  of  Espar- 
tero, who  seems  to  me  the  one  honest  and  capable  man  in 
Spain.  Now,  if  you  would  endeavour  to  get  up  a  party  to 


A    THWAKTED    PLOT  181 

support  him,  and  to  move  public  opinion  so  strongly  in  his 
favour  that  they  will  compel  the  ministry  either  to  give  him 
adequate  support  or  expose  themselves  to  be  kicked  out,  you 
will  be  doing  a  great  service  to  the  country.  You  saw  your- 
self the  condition  of  his  force  when  they  marched  in  yes- 
terday, utterly  worn  out  and  fatigued,  almost  in  rags — de- 
ficient in  everything  that  makes  up  an  army.  If  you  speak 
of  this  on  all  occasions,  stir  up  feeling  among  men  of  your 
own  class,  denounce  the  government  for  refusing  to  supply 
him  with  the  men  and  means  to  carry  on  the  war  on  a  proper 
scale,  you  will  be  doing  an  immense  amount  of  good." 

"  I  will  do  so ;  I  will  become  a  conspirator.  I  thoroughly 
agree  with  you  as  to  Espartero,  and  will  really  devote  my- 
self to  supporting  him.  Henceforth  I  will  become  a  public 
man,  and  make  government  tremble;"  and  he  struck  his 
breast  theatrically.  His  sisters  and  Arthur  all  broke  into  a 
laugh.  "  Seriously,  I  will  devote  myself  to  the  business, 
Arthur.  I  have  felt  for  some  time  that  I  ought  to  be  do- 
ing something  for  my  country.  I  know  nothing  of  soldier- 
ing, and  cannot  very  well  ask  for  a  musket  and  go  out  and 
fight ;  but  I  do  think  I  could  be  doing  some  good  in  working 
for  the  downfall  of  this  government,  for  which  no  one  but 
its  hangers-on  and  followers  have  a  good  word  to  say.  I  will 
begin  by  speaking  indignantly  of  the  state  of  Espartero's 
army,  and  directly  he  openly  breaks  with  government  I  will 
work  heart  and  soul  to  second  his  efforts." 

"  Don't  be  in  too  much  of  a  hurry,  Leon ;  you  know  that 
men  who  have  spoken  out  too  loudly  have  been  either  sent 
to  their  estates  or  imprisoned.  Begin  at  first  by  declaring 
that  the  state  of  the  army  is  disgraceful;  do  not  attack  the 
government  until  Espartero  himself  takes  the  field  against 
them.  When  he  once  does  so,  I  am  convinced  that  the  dis- 
satisfaction that  exists  will  find  a  voice,  and  that  the  govern- 
ment will  not  dare  to  set  themselves  against  it." 

Two  days  afterwards  Arthur  and  his  follower  started  with 
Espartero.  Four  days  later  they  found  that  Don  Carlos  waa 


182  WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION 

only  three  leagues  in  advance;  and  believing  that  his  force 
were  resting  for  the  day,  Espartero  at  once  moved  forward. 
But  he  was  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  the  country;  had  he 
been  aware  of  it,  he  could  have  caught  them  in  a  trap,  and 
Don  Carlos  himself  would  have  fallen  into  his  hands.  Un- 
fortunately, as  he  had  to  feel  his  way  down  a  steep  defile,  the 
Carlists  discovered  his  approach  and  retired  precipitately. 
On  the  28th  it  was  found  that  Don  Carlos  had  been  joined 
by  another  division,  but  Espartero  had  also  been  strength- 
ened. He  therefore  divided  his  army  into  two  corps,  one  com- 
manded by  General  Lorenzo  with  fourteen  battalions,  while 
he  retained  the  command  of  the  other  and  larger  division. 
A  few  days  later  the  former  force  was  attacked  suddenly  by 
a  superior  Carlist  army.  It  defended  itself  with  great  ob- 
stinacy. 

Espartero  started  instantly  when  he  heard  the  sound  of  the 
firing,  and  arrived  in  time  to  save  Lorenzo,  and  attacking 
the  left  and  centre  of  the  Carlist  force,  sent  them  flying  in 
disorder.  He  was,  however,  unable  to  follow  up  his  victory, 
being  forced  to  await  the  arrival  of  some  convoys  of  clothing 
and  provisions.  These  arrived  two  days  later,  and  pressing 
forward  he  picked  up  many  deserters  from  the  Carlist  ranks. 
These  all  declared  that  discord  and  confusion  raged  in  the 
Carlist  army,  and  that  the  Basques  and  Navarrese  had  de- 
clared their  determination  to  return  to  their  provinces 
whether  Don  Carlos  was  willing  or  not.  In  the  course  of 
two  or  three  days  their  army  broke  up  altogether,  crossing  the 
Ebro  at  various  points  under  their  respective  chiefs,  and 
making  their  way  off  to  the  mountains.  Espartero  devoted 
the  remainder  of  the  year  to  organizing  transport  and  sup- 
ply, and  punishing  acts  of  indiscipline  and  insubordination 
that  had  broken  out  at  various  places. 

As  soon  as  the  operations  ceased  Colonel  Wylde  wrote  to 
Arthur  requesting  him  to  go  down  to  join  General  Flinter, 
an  English  officer  in  the  service  of  Spain,  who  was  about 
to  be  sent  down  to  Toledo  at  the  request  of  the  deputies  of 


A   THWA&TED   PL(Xf  183 

Estremadura.  He  at  once  left  Espartero  and  rode  to  To- 
ledo, where  he -arrived  on  the  same  day  as  General  Flinter. 
~~  "  Colonel  Wylde  told  me  that  he  had  sent  you  to  join  me, 
Captain  Hallett,  and  spoke  very  highly  of  your  energy  and 
courage.  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  have  your  assistance.  This 
place  is  a  nest  of  Carlism.  Their  central  Junta  is  here,  and 
although  at  the  present  moment  I  cannot  take  any  steps 
against  them  while  they  remain  quiet,  it  will  not  be  very  long 
before  I  shall  be  able  to  do  so." 

Arthur  took  up  his  quarters  at  the  same  hotel  as  the  gen- 
eral, and  for  the  next  fortnight  aided  him  in  restoring  dis- 
cipline and  order  among  the  troops,  who  had  been  in  garrison 
there  for  some  time,  and  had  fallen  into  a  slack  state.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  news  was  brought  that  a  Carlist  force 
under  Basilio  Garcia  was  approaching  on  a  raiding  expe- 
dition, and  Flinter  persuaded  the  authorities  of  the  town  to 
join  him  in  declaring  it  in  a  state  of  siege. 

"  Now,"  he  said,  "  I  may  be  able  to  lay  hands  on  some 
of  these  Carlist  fellows,  if  I  can  but  obtain  evidence  against 
them.  There  is  no  doubt  that  among  them  are  some  of  the 
leading  men  of  the  province,  and  I  am  afraid  that,  even  if  I 
catch  them,  they  will  slip  through  my  fingers.  The  govern- 
ment at  Madrid  are,  as  you  know,  very  hostile  to  the  English. 
Sir  George  Villiers,  our  minister,  is  constantly  urging  them 
to  support  Espartero,  and  is  in  close  communication  with 
that  general,  therefore  they  are  opposed  to  us  all.  It  was 
only  because  they  did  not  see  how  they  could  refuse  the  re- 
quest of  the  deputies  of  Estremadura  that  I  was  allowed  to 
come  here.  You  may  be  sure  that,  what  with  the  personal 
objections  of  ministers  to  me,  and  the  fact  that  these  men 
are  all  wealthy  enough  to  bribe  right  and  left,  they  will  take 
no  action  against  them,  however  clear  the  evidence  I  may  be 
able  to  bring  forward.  Still,  that  makes  no  difference  in  my 
duty,  and  I  shall  certainly  lay  hands  on  them  if  I  can  obtain 
anything  like  certain  evidence." 

"Who  is  considered  the  principal?" 


184  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

"  The  Duke  de  Ladra." 

"  It  is  at  his  house  they  are  likely  to  meet,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  should  say  so." 

"  I  will  set  my  man  to  work ;  he  is  a  sharp  fellow,  and  he 
may  be  able  to  find  out  something  about  these  meetings." 

Roper  had  had  his  time  entirely  on  his  hands  since  their 
arrival  at  Toledo,  and,  being  of  a  chatty  disposition,  had 
already  made  a  great  many  acquaintances.  He  was  a  good- 
looking  young  fellow,  and  his  scarlet  uniform  opened  the 
doors  of  a  good  many  houses  to  him. 

"  Roper,"  Arthur  said  to  him  that  evening,  "  I  know  that 
you  are  constantly  getting  up  flirtations  wherever  you  go." 

"  Well,  sir,"  Roper  said,  "  I  must  do  something,  and  some- 
times it  has  been  hard  work  to  kill  time.  Did  you  say  that 
for  any  particular  reason  ? " 

"Yes.  Do  you  happen  to  know  anyone  in  the  household 
of  the  Duke  de  Ladra?" 

"  Well,  yes,  sir ;  I  do  know  a  young  woman  there.  She 
went  with  me  to  a  festa  yesterday  evening." 

"  Well,  I  wish  you  could  find  out  in  some  way  when  any 
meetings  of  leading  men  of  the  place  are  held  there,  and 
whether  they  meet  on  any  particular  day." 

"  I  know  that  there  was  a  meeting  last  night,  sir,  because 
she  said  it  was  what  she  called  a  men's  evening,  and  therefore 
she  could  get  out." 

"  Well,  when  you  see  her  again,  Roper,  you  might  perhaps 
find  out  when  the  next  meeting  will  take  place  by  asking  her 
when  she  can  come  out  next." 

"  I  can  manage  that  easily  enough,  sir,"  and  he  looked  en- 
quiringly at  his  master. 

"I  want  to  be  present  at  it,  Roper." 

"You  do,  sir?" 

"Yes.  These  men  are  Carlist  conspirators.  We  cannot 
seize  them  without  some  evidence  against  them,  and  if  I 
could  only  overhear  their  talk  we  should  be  able  to  lay  hands 
upon  them." 


A    THWARTED    PLOT  185 

"  That  would  not  be  easy,  sir." 

"No;  I  quite  see  that.  But  don't  you  think  that  if  you 
were  to  say  that  you  know  a  cavalero  who  is  very  anxious  to 
be  present  at  one  of  these  meetings,  and  would  willingly  pay 
ten  golden  pieces  to  anyone  who  would  smuggle  him  up  a 
back  stair  to  a  point  where  he  could  see  what  goes  on,  she 
would  be  likely  to  accept  the  money  ? " 

"  I  can't  tell  you,  sir.  Teh  pounds  is  a  large  sum  to  one 
of  these  servants,  who  don't  get  more  than  two  or  three 
pounds  a  year.  I  should  tell  her,  of  course,  that  it  would 
never  be  known  who  had  admitted  you,  and  you  would  take 
an  oath  not  to  betray  her  if  anything  happened.  Possibly 
she  might  consent;  at  any  rate  I  could  sound  her  carefully. 
It  would  be  quite  a  marriage  dot  to  her;  but  it  would  be  a 
dangerous  business  for  you,  sir,  if  you  were  caught." 

"  Yes ;  but  when  everything  was  arranged  I  should  get 
General  Flinter  to  send  down  a  body  of  troops  under  an 
officer  to  surround  the  house,  with  a  warrant  for  the  arrest  of 
all  persons  found  within  it.  If  I  were  discovered  I  should 
at  once  fire  a  pistol,  and  that  would  be  the  signal  for  the 
officer  to  rush  in  with  the  soldiers,  and  run  up-stairs  to  the 
room.  As  soon  as  they  heard  the  noise,  they  would  cease 
attacking  me.  You  might  possibly  be  up  there  with  me.  If 
so,  I  think  we  could  certainly  rely  upon  holding  our  own 
against  a  dozen  conspirators  for  three  or  four  minutes." 

"  Yes,  I  should  say  so,  sir.  Half  of  them  are  likely  to  be 
oldish  men,  and  would  be  so  surprised  and  confounded  at 
seeing  us  that  they  would  lose  some  time  before  making  the 
attack." 

Two  days  later  Roper  brought  news  that  he  had  met  the 
young  woman  again ;  she  was  not  unwilling  to  help,  but  that 
she  held  out  for  twenty  pounds ;  that  the  meetings  were  held 
once  a  week,  and  that  there  was  likely  to  be  another  in  four 
days.  "  She  is  to  meet  me  again  to-morrow  evening.  I  am 
to  tell  her  whether  you  are  willing  to  pay  twenty  pounds, 
and  to  hand  it  to  her  when  she  lets  us  in." 


186  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

"  Yes,  I  will  pay  that.  It  is  worth  it ;  for  if  these  fellows 
organize  a  rising  in  the  town  at  the  same  time  as  the  Car- 
lists  attack  it,  we  shall  be  in  a  very  bad  way.  When  you  see 
her  to-morrow,  I  will  tell  the  general." 

On  the  next  evening  Roper  brought  news  that  everything 
was  arranged,  and  that  they  were  to  be  at  a  certain  back 
door  of  the  duke's  mansion  at  nine  o'clock  on  the  following 
Thursday. 

Arthur  then  went  in  and  told  the  general. 

"  It  is  a  capital  plan,  Captain  Hallett,  and  I  am  deeply  in- 
debted to  you;  at  the  same  time,  it  is  a  dangerous  one  as 
far  as  you  are  concerned." 

"  I  don't  think  there  is  much  danger  in  it,  sir.  In  the  first 
place,  we  are  not  likely  to  be  discovered,  and  if  we  are,  my 
man  and  I  can  defend  ourselves  till  the  troops  come  up." 

"  Well,  if  you  are  ready  to  take  the  risk  there  is  no  ques- 
tion that  the  scheme  is  an  advantageous  one,  and  will  remove 
a  very  serious  danger.  I  will,  on  the  morning  of  Thursday, 
draw  up  an  order  for  the  arrest  of  all  persons  found  at  the 
duke's,  and  will,  soon  after  nine,  myself  bring  down  a  hun- 
dred picked  men.  You  may  be  sure  that  if  I  hear  a  pistol- 
shot  I  shall  instantly  demand  admittance,  and  rush  up  to 
your  assistance.  You  had  better  get  me  information  as  to 
the  precise  position  of  the  room,  so  that  we  may  be  able  to 
make  straight  for  it,  and  not  waste  time  in  entering  other 
rooms." 

The  preparations  all  worked  smoothly.  At  six  o'clock  in 
the  evening  there  was  a  meeting  of  deputies  and  the  war- 
rants for  arrest  were  signed,  and  a  few  minutes  before  nine 
Arthur  and  Roper,  both  wrapped  up  in  cloaks,  and  carrying 
pistols  as  well  as  swords,  went  round  to  a  door  that  the 
woman  had  shown  to  the  latter.  Roper  knocked  three  times, 
and  the  door  was  opened.  They  entered,  and  Arthur  handed 
to  the  woman  the  money  he  had  promised  her. 

"  You  follow  me  very  quietly,"  she  said.  "  There  is  no 
fear  of  our  meeting  anyone,  these  stairs  are  never  used  after 


A    THWARTED    PLOT  187 

dark.  I  will  take  you  to  the  room,  but  you  must  arrange 
about  your  own  hiding-place.  Mind  your  promise  that, 
whatever  happens,  you  will  not  betray  me." 

"  Do  not  be  afraid,"  Arthur  said,  "  we  will  keep  good  faith 
with  you." 

Going  up  very  cautiously  in  the  dark,  they  came  presently 
to  a  small  landing.  "  This  is  the  door,"  she  said.  "  I  be- 
lieve they  have  all  arrived,  and  will  come  here  in  a  few  min- 
utes." 

She  opened  the  door  carefully  and  looked  in.  "Those 
curtains  are  the  best  hiding-place,"  she  said,  pointing  to 
some  drawn  across  the  window.  "  I  don't  think  there  is  any 
chance  that  they  will  move  them." 

She  closed  the  door  behind  them,  and  they  walked  across 
to  the  window  and  took  their  places  behind  the  curtains. 
It  was  a  room  of  considerable  size.  A  table  stood  in  the 
middle,  and  at  this  twelve  chairs  were  placed,  with  writing 
materials  before  each.  They  talked  together  in  a  low 
whisper. 

"  If  a  row  takes  place  we  will  both  run  to  the  corner  to 
the  left.  In  that  way  only  two  persons  can  attack  us  at 
once,  and  as  they  will  probably  have  nothing  but  knives 
about  them,  we  ought  to  be  able  to  keep  them  off  easily 
enough." 

Presently  the  door  opened,  and  twelve  gentlemen  entered. 
The  last  to  come  in  turned  the  key  in  the  door,  and  one  of 
them  went  to  the  door  by  which  Arthur  had  entered  and 
locked  that  also;  then  they  sat  down  and  began  to  talk. 
They  were,  as  the  general  had  thought  probable,  arranging 
a  plan  by  which  parties  of  men  should  seize  the  various 
gates.  They  were  to  wait  till  the  major  part  of  the  troops 
had  issued  out  to  meet  the  Carlists,  and  then  the  bands 
were  to  fall  upon  those  that  remained.  Each  of  those  pres- 
ent gave  in  a  list  of  the  number  of  followers  and  friends 
he  could  answer  for.  The  total  amounted  to  about  six  hun- 
dred, but  they  agreed  that  this  number  would  probably  be 


188  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

multiplied  by  four,  as  it  was  certain  that  a  large  number 
of  the  lower  class  of  the  town  would  join  them,  though  it 
would  not  be  prudent  to  take  them  into  the  plot  till  the 
moment  for  action  arrived. 

Arthur  had  heard  enough,  and  he  was  sure  that  by  this 
time  the  house  would  be  surrounded  and  the  general  ready 
to  enter.  He  whispered  to  Roper  to  be  ready,  and  then, 
turning  round,  thrust  his  pistol  through  the  window  and 
pulled  the  trigger.  Then,  as  the  people  at  the  table  sprang 
to  their  feet,  he  and  Roper  leapt  out  and  took  their  places 
in  the  corner,  Arthur  saying:  "You  had  better  surrender, 
gentlemen!  The  house  is  surrounded,  and  there  are  no 
means  of  escape." 

Several  of  the  younger  men  drew  their  knives,  but  shrank 
back  as  Arthur  and  his  follower  dropped  their  cloaks,  drew 
their  swords,  and  levelled  their  pistols.  "You  will  only  be 
throwing  away  your  lives/'  Arthur  said  sternly.  "  Armed  as 
we  are,  we  are  a  match  for  the  whole  of  you.  Listen!  you 
can  hear  blows  on  the  door  below." 

There  was  indeed  a  sound  of  loud  knocking,  which  sud- 
denly ceased.  The  conspirators  spoke  hastily  together.  One 
man  ran  to  the  table  and  caught  up  some  of  the  papers,  but 
Arthur  fired  at  his  hand.  Almost  immediately  afterwards 
there  was  a  loud  knocking  at  the  door.  Shrugging  his  shoul- 
ders, the  duke  walked  to  it  and  turned  the  key.  The  gen- 
eral, followed  by  a  dozen  soldiers,  entered.  "Duke  de 
Ladra,"  he  said,  "you  are  my  prisoner,  together  with  all  in 
this  room.  I  hold  a  warrant  of  arrest  against  the  whole  of 
you,  on  a  charge  of  treason  against  the  queen  and  govern- 
ment." 

"  I  have  no  power  to  resist  you,  sir,"  the  duke  said,  "  but 
you  will  repent  this  outrage." 

"  I  think  not,  duke.  The  town  being  in  a  state  of  siege, 
I  have  full  authority  to  act  as  I  have  done.  But  the  war- 
rant is  also  signed  by  ten  of  the  deputies  of  Estremadura. 
Now,  gentlemen,  I  do  not  wish  to  use  violence.  I  will  allow 


QUEEN    CHRISTINA    HELD   OUT    HER    HAND 


A    THWAKTED    PLOT  189 

you  all  to  take  your  hats  and  cloaks,  and  must  then  march 
you  to  a  place  of  detention.  •  The  matter  will  then  be  looked 
into,  and  you  will  be  tried  by  court-martial." 

The  duke  bowed  coldly.  "  Gentlemen,"  he  said  to  his 
friends,  "for  the  present  we  must  yield  to  force.  We  shall 
doubtless  have  a  reckoning  with  this  gentleman  later  on." 

Quietly  they  walked  downstairs.  The  general  directed 
four  soldiers  to  remain  with  Arthur  until  he  returned.  He 
marched  the  prisoners  to  the  jail  and  placed  a  strong  guard 
over  them,  and  then  returned  to  the  'house. 

"Your  plan  has  worked  splendidly,"  he  said  to  Arthur, 
"and  it  has  been  managed  without  bloodshed." 

"  Altogether,  except  that  I  had  to  put  a  bullet  through  the 
hand  of  one  of  them,  who  was  about  to  destroy  those  papers 
— they  are  lists  of  the  number  of  men  that  each  bound  him- 
self to  produce  when  the  rising  took  place." 

"  And  you  heard  all  that  was  said  ?  " 

"  Yes ; "  and  he  related  the  conversation  which  he  had 
overheard.  The  room  was  then  searched  carefully,  and  a 
number  of  papers  and  letters  to  friends  throughout  the  coun- 
try were  discovered,  showing  that  preparations  had  been 
made  for  a  very  formidable  rising  throughout  the  province 
directly  Toledo  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Carlists. 

"  It  is  well  that  we  nipped  the  thing  in  the  bud,"  General 
Flinter  said  when  he  examined  the  papers,  which  were  car- 
ried for  that  purpose  to  his  rooms.  "Now,  I  dare  say  you 
think  that  these  men  will  all  be  executed;  you  were  never 
more  mistaken.  We  shall  try  them  by  court-martial  and 
condemn  them  to  death:  the  government  will  smother  the 
whole  thing  up  and  release  them." 

"Impossible!" 

"It  is  not  only  possible,  but  certain.  These  men  are  all 
playing  a  double  game.  In  the  first  place,  they  wish  to  keep 
well  with  both  sides ;  in  the  second  place,  they  hate  me,  first 
as  an  Englishman,  and  secondly  as  a  strong  adherent  of 
Espartero ;  in  the  third  place,  these  men  will  bribe  the  gov- 


190  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

eminent  largely,  and  money  will  do  anything  in  Spain. 
However,  one  good  thing  will  come  of  the  discovery  of  the 
plot :  it  will  excite  immense  alarm  among  all  connected  with 
it.  Many,  when  they  hear  of  the  seizure  of  these  compromis- 
ing letters,  will  move  away  from  their  homes  at  once  until 
they  think  that  the  storm  has  passed  over,  or  keep  quiet, 
and  instead  of  having  the  whole  country  in  a  flame  we  shall 
only  have  Basilio's  force  to  deal  with." 

Two  days  later  the  court-martial  was  held,  the  general  and 
his  officers  sitting  upon  it.  Arthur  and  Eoper  both  repeated 
what  they  had  heard;  the  lists  of  men  that  would  be  sup- 
plied, and  the  work  for  which  they  were  to  be  told  off,  were 
brought  forward,  together  with  some  arrangements  that  had 
been  made  between  the  duke  and  Basilio;  and  the  prisoners 
were  found  guilty  and  condemned  to  death.  The  proceed- 
ings of  the  court-martial  and  the  sentences  were  sent  off  to 
Madrid  for  confirmation  by  the  government. 

"Now,  that  is  off  our  hands,"  the  general  said  to  Arthur 
when  the  tribunal  broke  up,  "  and  we  can  turn  our  atten- 
tion to  Basilio  without  any  fear  of  leaving  the  city  un- 
guarded." 

Two  days  later,  however,  a  messenger  arrived  post-haste 
from  Madrid  saying  that  the  proceedings  had  been  most 
high-handed,  and  that  the  prisoners  were  merely  to  be  kept 
in  confinement  for  the  present.  At  the  same  time  half  of 
General  Flinter's  little  force  was  at  once  to  march  for  the 
capital. 

"  What  did  I  tell  you  ? "  the  general  said,  as  he  threw  the 
order  across  the  table  to  Arthur.  "What  do  you  think  of 
that  for  a  government  ?  " 

"  If  I  had  my  way,  I  should  like  to  march  to  Madrid,  seize 
the  whole  of  those  scoundrels,  and  hang  them  from  their 
own  balconies." 

"  Well,  I  have  nothing  to  do  but  obey  orders ;  but  if  they 
think  they  have  prepared  the  way  for  the  Carlists  to  enter 
Toledo  they  are  greatly  mistaken.  I  shall  obey  the  order 


A    THWARTED    PLOT  191 

and  send  off  the  troops.  I  shall  refrain  from  executing  these 
traitors;  but  I  shall  not  let  that  part  of  the  order  be  known, 
and  so  shall  keep  their  friends  throughout  the  country  on 
thorns." 

The  conspirators,  indeed,  had  taken  advantage  of  the  lax- 
ity of  the  prison  arrangements  to  send  off  large  sums  of 
money  to  members  of  the  government  to  endeavour  to  pro- 
cure the  removal  of  General  Flinter.  The  government  jour- 
nals prepared  the  way  by  violent  abuse  of  the  general,  who 
had  maltreated  harmless  men,  and  was  a  brutal  Englishman; 
and  in  a  few  days  orders  were  issued  for  his  removal.  The 
Carlists,  who  were  kept  well  informed  of  what  was  going 
on,  approached  Toledo  and  actually  obtained  possession  of 
the  bridge,  but  Flinter  was  still  there,  although  he  had  re- 
ceived the  notice  of  his  removal.  He  had  but  three  hun- 
dred men  under  his  command,  but  with  these  he  sallied  out 
and,  after  hard  fighting,  drove  the  enemy  off.  He  started  in 
pursuit,  and  received  some  reinforcements  as  he  went,  and 
being  perfectly  well  acquainted  with  the  country  he  was  en- 
abled to  continue  his  march  all  night.  In  the  morning  he 
came  upon  a  large  body  of  Carlists,  and,  taking  them  com- 
pletely by  surprise,  fell  upon  them  and  utterly  routed  them. 

No  more  brilliant  act  had  been  performed  during  the  war. 
The  government  in  vain  endeavoured  to  belittle  it,  but  the 
people  were  not  to  be  deceived,  and  by  them  Flinter's  vic- 
tory was  regarded  at  its  true  value.  They  pronounced  so 
strongly  in  favour  of  him  that  the  government  was  reluc- 
tantly obliged  to  yield,  made  him  a  Marshal  de  Campo,  and 
placed  him  in  charge  of  the  provinces  of  La  Mancha  and 
Toledo.  The  action  had  a  great  effect  upon  the  course  of  the 
war  in  Estremadura.  It  completely  disorganized  the  Car- 
lists  among  the  mountains  of  Toledo,  set  free  an  important 
province,  and  robbed  the  enemy  of  a  base  for  the  operations 
which  they  had  arranged  should  take  place  there  during  the 
approaching  season. 

Arthur  had  ridden  out  with  the  general  to  the  attack  of 


192  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

the  party  who  had  occupied  the  bridge,  and  took  part  in  the 
night  march  and  in  the  concluding  victory,  and  the  general 
in  his  report  spoke  very  highly  of  his  courage  and  services, 
and,  moreover,  gave  him  full  credit  for  the  discovery  of  the 
plot  and  capture  of  the  plotters.  The  government  com- 
plained both  to  Sir  George  Villiers  and  Colonel  Wylde  of 
the  share  he  had  taken  in  the  operations,  but  both  replied 
that  British  officers  were  perfectly  at  liberty  to  take  part 
in  operations  that  would  strengthen  the  Royal  cause,  and 
that  the  government  were  only  too  glad  of  the  assistance  of 
British  seamen  and  marines  in  the  operations  in  the  north. 

The  government  then  endeavoured  to  sow  dissension  be- 
tween Espartero  and  Cordova.  The  latter  had  now  left  the 
army  and  returned  to  Madrid,  where  he  had  entered  the 
Cortes.  But  Cordova  remained  firm,  and  refused  to  be 
brought  into  these  intrigues.  They  further  endeavoured  to 
annoy  Espartero  by  displacing  the  chief  of  his  staff,  in  whom 
he  had  implicit  trust,  without  consulting  him. 

Arthur  had,  after  the  defeat  of  the  Carlists  by  General 
Elinter,  returned  to  Madrid  and  gone  to  join  Espartero, 
who  on  the  28th  of  January  arrived  at  Villa  Nueva  de  Mena 
and  found  the  enemy  strongly  posted  and  entrenched  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river  Cadagua.  On  the  morning  of  the 
30th  he  attacked  them  in  three  columns  under  a  heavy  fire, 
and  after  hard  fighting  succeeded  in  driving  them  from  four 
villages  they  had  occupied. 

They  fell  back  to  a  still  stronger  position  in  the  rear,  but 
from  this  they  were  also  driven,  and  by  one  o'clock  they 
were  in  disorderly  retreat;  but  owing  to  the  difficult  coun- 
try no  pursuit  was  attempted  that  day.  The  next  morning 
Espartero  moved  with  eight  battalions  to  Berron,  Iriarte  go- 
ing to  the  right  with  four  battalions.  After  marching  half 
a  league  he  found  the  enemy  strongly  entrenched,  but  they 
retreated,  on  his  approach,  to  the  fortified  convent  of  Santa 
Isabel,  where  they  had  the  support  of  two  Biscayan  regi- 
ments and  four  battalions  of  STavarrese,  and  occupied  the 


A    THWAKTED    PLOT  1\)3 

formidable  heights  in  heavy  masses.  As  soon  as  Iriarte's 
column  became  engaged  with  the  Carlist  left,  Espartero  at- 
tacked the  position  of  Santa  Isabel,  and  in  spite  of  a  very 
heavy  fire  with  which  he  was  met,  carried  it  with  a  rush  and 
advanced  against  the  heights,  on  which  the  chief  force  of  the 
enemy  was  posted. 

Here  an  obstinate  resistance  was  made;  but  before  dark 
the  Carlists  had  been  dislodged  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet, 
and  were  in  full  retreat  into  the  mountains.  The  Christinos 
remained  near  Berron  to  protect  the  evacuation  of  Balma- 
seda.  This  place  was  at  such  a  distance  from  the  base  that 
it  was  considered  impracticable  to  hold  it,  as  its  supply  of 
provisions  could  only  be  kept  up  by  means  of  large  escorts 
and  at  considerable  loss  of  life.  It  was  therefore  decided  to 
blow  up  the  fort  and  withdraw  the  garrison,  strengthening, 
however,  the  fort  at  Villa  Nueva  de  Mena,  which  now  be- 
came the  most  advanced  post  of  the  Christinos.  This  was 
left  in  charge  of  General  Latre,  Espartero  returning  to 
Logrono. 

In  the  meantime,  however,  matters  were  going  badly  else- 
where. The  fortresses  of  Morella  and  Benicarlo  had  just 
fallen  into  Cabrera's  hands,  and  Oraa,  who  was  opposing 
him,  was  calling  loudly  for  reinforcements.  Basilio  Garcia 
was  plundering  Castile.  Espartero,  now  sickened  by  the 
abuse  which  had  been  poured  upon  him  by  the  orders  of  the 
government  at  Madrid,  determined  to  match  himself  against 
them,  and  issued  a  proclamation  giving  an  account  of  the 
state  of  the  army,  the  sufferings  of  the  soldiers — who  were 
without  pay,  and  often  without  food — and  the  contempt  with 
which  the  government,  while  wringing  money  in  every  man- 
ner from  the  country,  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  all  his  requests 
and  left  the  army  to  starve.  This  proclamation  had  an  im- 
mense effect  throughout  the  country.  The  people  had  been 
so  sedulously  taught  to  believe  that  everything  was  going  on 
well,  that  the  troops  were  well  fed  and  regularly  paid,  that 
this  exposition  by  the  general  whom  all  trusted  and  believed 


194:  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

came  like  a  thunderclap,  and  eventually  brought  about  the 
downfall  of  the  ministry. 

From  this  moment  they  felt  that  Espartero  was  their  mas- 
ter, and,  although  still  putting  many  difficulties  in  his  way, 
did  not  venture  openly  to  oppose  him.  Espartero's  next 
movement  of  any  consequence  was  in  connection  with  a  Car- 
list  expedition  under  Negri,  which  had  been  despatched  with 
the  intention  of  wasting  the  hitherto  unmolested  provinces 
of  Galicia  and  the  Asturias.  It  was  extremely  important 
that  this  expedition  should  be  crushed;  because  if  the  Car- 
lists  were  permitted  to  lay  waste  these  provinces,  which  were 
both  rich  and  well-affected  to  the  Christino  cause,  there 
would  be  so  great  a  falling  off  in  the  contributions  that  it 
would  be  difficult  in  the  extreme  to  maintain  the  armies  in 
the  field.  Espartero  set  out  with  nine  battalions  and  four- 
teen guns,  but  without  cavalry,  while  General  Latre,  who  was 
to  follow  him  by  a  separate  route,  had  also  nine  battalions. 
He  was  in  total  ignorance  of  the  movements  of  Negri,  who 
entered  Castile  on  the  15th  of  March  at  Soucillo,  but  he 
discovered  on  the  24th  that  he  had  gone  into  the  Asturias. 
Latre  came  up  with  him  on  the  21st,  and,  although  inferior 
in  force,  had  the  advantage.  Espartero  marched  on  Leon 
to  prevent  their  entering  Galicia  or  uniting  with  Don  Ba- 
silio.  Under  a  good  leader  the  men  had  confidence.  The 
Christines  were  capable  of  very  long  marches,  and  on  this 
occasion  they  travelled  two  hundred  miles  in  nine  days,  and 
a  short  time  afterwards  marched  ninety-two  leagues  in  four- 
teen days. 

While  they  were  doing  this  good  service,  Iriarte,  with  a 
division  twice  as  strong  as  that  of  Negri,  was  resting  quietly 
at  Alcobendas  with  the  apparent  intention  only  of  avoiding 
the  enemy.  Had  the  Carlists  remained  in  the  Asturias  after 
their  defeat  by  Latre,  they  would  have  found  great  difficulty 
in  escaping  from  the  united  action  of  that  general  and  Espar- 
tero; but  on  hearing  of  Espartero's  movement  on  Leon  they 
countermarched,  and  on  the  27th  of  March  were  at  Belorado, 


A   FIASCO  195 

with  Latre's  division — now  under  Iriarte — a  day's  march  in 
their  rear.  Espartero  had  also  returned  by  forced  marches 
to  Palencia,  and  reckoned  on  finding  himself,  after  two  or 
three  short  marches,  in  front  of  the  enemy,  with  Iriarte  only 
a  short  distance  in  the  rear;  but  on  the  night  of  the  30th  of 
March  he  received  a  despatch  saying  that  another  Carlist 
expedition  had  passed  into  Castile.  This,  like  much  of  the 
information  he  obtained,  turned  out  to  be  untrue,  but  it 
compelled  him  to  march  in  that  direction,  leaving  the  pur- 
suit of  Negri  to  Iriarte. 


CHAPTER   XII 

A  FIASCO 

WHILE  Espartero  was  waiting  for  news  that  Negri  was 
approaching,  he  learned  that  Iriarte  had  inflicted  a 
check  upon  the  Carlist  leader,  and  that  the  latter  had  again 
countermarched.  He  at  once  concluded  that  the  Carlists 
would  make  for  the  Sierra  de  Burgos,  and  marching  with 
all  speed  in  that  direction,  at  one  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
the  22nd  instant  he  came  within  sight  of  their  camp-fires. 
They  retreated,  and  he  did  not  overtake  them  for  some  time. 
Espartero,  with  his  staff,  a  few  mounted  officers,  and  a  little 
escort  of  forty  cavalry  of  the  guard  and  twenty-five  English 
lancers,  had  pressed  on  ahead  of  his  troops,  and  fearing  that 
the  enemy  would  outmarch  his  men  and  get  away,  placed 
himself  at  the  head  of  the  little  party  and  charged  furiously 
down  upon  them. 

Taken  wholly  by  surprise  at  this  sudden  attack,  and  not 
knowing  what  force  he  had  at  his  back,  two  thousand  men 
surrendered  to  him  without  resistance.  There  was  a  scene 
of  wild  enthusiasm  among  the  troops  when  they  came  up 
and  saw  what  had  been  effected.  It  was  little  wonder,  in- 


196  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

deed,  that  Espartero's  troops  were  so  devoted  to  him,  so  ready 
to  make  any  exertion  when  called  upon  to  do  so,  and  to  at- 
tack any  force  of  the  enemy  against  whom  they  might  be 
directed.  Espartero  possessed,  indeed,  all  the  attributes  re- 
quired of  a  great  general — quick  in  decision,  prompt  in 
action,  firm  under  disappointment,  ready  to  delay  until  the 
right  moment  arrived  for  striking,  or  to  hurl  his  troops  im- 
petuously at  any  point  required;  taking  the  greatest  care 
for  the  comfort  of  his  men,  able  to  bear  calmly  the  factious 
opposition  of  political  antagonists,  and  to  be  patient  under 
the  repeated  blunders  or  obstinate  lethargy  of  the  military 
commanders  serving  under  him.  A  great  and  strong  man  in 
every  way,  the  only  really  great  man  that  Spain  has  pro- 
duced for  the  past  two  centuries. 

The  enthusiasm  excited  by  this  daring  action  greatly 
strengthened  Espartero's  hold  upon  the  people  in  general. 
The  destruction  of  Negri's  expedition  was  complete,  for,  in 
addition  to  those  who  had  fallen  in  battle  or  who  had  been 
taken  prisoners,  no  fewer  than  two  thousand  had  deserted 
during  the  pursuit  by  Iriarte,  or  had,  after  being  captured, 
consented  to  join  the  queen's  service. 

"It  was  worth  while  to  take  part  in  this  affair,  Roper. 
One  might  live  a  century  and  not  have  a  chance  of  being 
one  of  seventy  or  eighty  men  who  had  charged  an  army  of 
two  thousand  and  took  them  all  prisoners.  It  does  one  good 
to  serve  under  such  men  as  Espartero  and  General  Flinter." 

"That  it  does,  sir;  they  are  both  splendid  fellows  and  no 
mistake.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  Carlists  are  fools  to  go 
on  with  this  war;  they  are  always  on  the  run.  I  don't  say 
that  they  don't  fight  bravely  sometimes,  but  they  must  have 
lost  all  real  hope  of  success.  Everyone  says  they  are  sick  of 
Don  Carlos." 

"  Yes ;  he  is  the  last  sort  of  man  with  whom  brave  people 
could  have  any  sympathy.  He  is  surrounded  by  mere  ad- 
venturers, holds  himself  entirely  aloof  from  his  own  generals, 
and  treats  them  as  haughtily  as  if  he  were  a  king  who  could 


A  FIASCO  197 

bestow  all  honours  and  rewards.  I  should  think  that  they 
are  no  longer  really  fighting  to  put  him  on  the  throne.  The 
northern  provinces  are  still  holding  out  for  their  privileges. 
As  to  Valencia  and  Aragon,  I  should  say  that  they  are  fight- 
ing from  sheer  obstinacy.  I  do  not  see  what  they  have  to 
hope  for.  They  have  been  struggling  for  four  years,  and 
so  far  have  certainly  held  their  own,  thanks  to  the  energy 
of  Cabrera;  but  there  must  be  an  end  to  it  sooner  or  later, 
when  they  will  find  that  they  have  gained  nothing  by  all  their 
losses  and  sacrifices." 

Espartero  moved  up  to  Yittoria,  and  in  June  laid  siege  to 
the  fortified  town  of  Alava,  on  the  high  road  from  Vittoria 
to  Pena-Cerrada.  This  town  had  been  taken  by  the  Car- 
lists  ten  months  previously,  and  these  had  placed  a  strong 
garrison  in  it.  He  arrived  in  front  of  the  town  on  the  morn- 
ing of  19th  June,  and  was  immediately  attacked  on  the 
left  by  six  Carlist  battalions  under  Guergue.  Fighting  went 
on  all  day.  During  the  night  some  heavy  guns  were  placed 
on  a  battery  against  a  strong  stone  redoubt.  This  had  been 
lately  constructed  by  the  Carlists  on  a  hill  to  the  north  of 
the  town,  which  it  completely  commanded.  The  distance 
was  found,  however,  to  be  too  great,  and  in  the  morning 
Espartero,  observing  that  his  skirmishers  had  been  allowed 
to  approach  close  to  the  fort,  determined  to  carry  it  by  storm. 
He  at  once  launched  his  troops  against  it.  The  fort  was 
gallantly  defended — grenades,  stones,  and  other  missiles  were 
hurled  on  the  attacking  party;  but  numbers  and  enthusiasm 
prevailed.  Espartero  was  looking  on,  and  his  soldiers,  feel- 
ing themselves  invincible,  finally  swarmed  over  the  parapets, 
and  the  fort  surrendered. 

The  town  was  now  summoned  to  surrender.  It  had  been 
abandoned  by  the  governor,  who  left  a  garrison  of  only  four 
hundred  men  to  defend  it.  These  fired  upon  the  bearer  of 
the  message,  and  on  the  following  morning  the  guns  opened 
upon  them.  The  firing  lasted  from  seven  in  the  morning  till 
two  in  the  afternoon.  Many  of  the  houses  were  demolished, 


198  WITH  THE  BRITISH  LEGION 

but  the  losses  of  the  besiegers  were  heavy,  for  they  were  all 
this  time  exposed  to  a  serious  attack  on  the  left,  led  by 
Guergue's  force,  which  had  been  reinforced  during  the  morn- 
ing by  four  battalions  from  Navarre.  Espartero  therefore 
decided  upon  another  dashing  step.  Leaving  half  his  force 
to  continue  the  bombardment  of  the  town,  he  formed  the 
rest  into  four  battalions,  and  with  this  force  and  his  cavalry 
he  attacked  Guergue,  who  was  strongly  entrenched  on  a 
wooded  height,  supported  by  four  guns.  As  the  Christinos 
entered  the  wood  they  were  exposed  to  a  very  destructive  fire 
from  the  Navarre  battalions,  but  advanced  steadily  without 
firing  a  shot.  As  they  pushed  forward,  a  hail  of  round  shot, 
grape,  and  musketry  swept  them  at  a  distance  of  three  hun- 
dred yards;  but  they  crossed  a  small  ravine  and  fell  upon 
the  enemy,  while  Espartero  launched  his  cavalry  against  the 
Carlist  column  that  was  opposed  to  him.  This  abandoned 
its  artillery,  and  broke  and  fled  in  all  directions. 

The  battle  had  lasted  but  half  an  hour.  In  that  time  the 
four  guns  and  four  hundred  prisoners  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  queen's  troops,  and  a  far  larger  number  would  have  been 
taken  had  their  escape  not  been  facilitated  by  the  intricate 
mountainous  country.  As  soon  as  the  defenders  of  the  town 
saw  that  the  force  on  which  they  had  relied  for  protection 
was  defeated,  they  abandoned  the  place  and  made  their  escape 
into  the  woods  behind.  A  garrison  was  placed  in  the  town, 
and  the  army  proceeded  to  Logrono  and  prepared  for  the 
siege  of  Estella,  and  while  doing  so  had  a  successful  engage- 
ment with  the  Carlist  commander-in-chief. 

Colonel  Wylde  had  joined  Espartero  a  day  or  two  after  the 
capture  of  Pena-Cerrada,  and  he  at  once  sent  Arthur  south 
to  join  the  force  with  which  Oraa  was  preparing  to  besiege 
Morella.  Here  he  found  three  other  English  officers,  com- 
missioners of  the  British  government,  who  were  to  report 
the  doings  of  the  army,  and  above  all  to  urge  that  the  Con- 
vention regarding  the  treatment  of  prisoners  should  be  ob- 
served. Morella  was  a  town  of  great  natural  strength.  It 


A   FIASCO  199 

lay  in  the  very  heart  of  the  mountains,  was  built  on  rising 
ground,  and  defended  by  twenty  guns.  This  town  and 
Canta-Vieja,  some  twelve  miles  distant,  formed  the  head- 
quarters of  Cabrera,  whose  force  amounted  to  a  little  over 
ten  thousand  men.  Oraa  had  his  head-quarters  at  Teruel, 
and  believed  that  the  Carlist  troops  would  not  venture  to 
defend  Morella. 

Cabrera's  troops  differed  materially  from  those  against 
whom  Espartero  was  fighting.  The  latter  were  peasants,  ani- 
mated by  a  desperate  determination  to  defend  what  they  con- 
sidered their  rights  and  privileges ;  the  others  were  rough,  idle 
fellows,  fugitives  from  justice,  men  who  preferred  a  life  of 
adventure  and  a  chance  of  plunder  to  work,  but  the  iron  dis- 
cipline maintained  by  their  leader  welded  them  into  a  whole, 
and  inspired  them  with  vigour  and  bravery.  Cabrera  was  in 
his  way  as  remarkable  a  military  genius  as  Espartero;  but 
while  one  carried  on  war  mercifully,  the  other  tarnished  his 
reputation  by  countless  acts  of  cruelty  and  cold-blooded 
murder. 

The  force  was  arranged  in  three  divisions,  and  the  advance 
was  planned  so  that  all  should  arrive  at  the  same  time  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Morella.  On  the  24th  of  July  Oraa 
left  Teruel,  and  was  joined  on  the  28th  by  General  Baltho's 
division,  and  on  the  following  day  by  San  Miguel.  On  the 
8th  of  August  he  was  immediately  in  front  of  Morella.  The 
united  force  amounted  to  sixteen  thousand  infantry  and 
twelve  thousand  cavalry.  Matters  began  badly.  Oraa  was 
well  aware  that  his  supply  of  provisions  was  a  scanty  one, 
and  yet  he  allowed  the  waste  of  a  store  of  grain  that  would 
have  supplied  the  army  for  some  time.  The  wheat  had  been 
cut,  but  was  lying  in  the  fields,  and  instead  of  having  it  col- 
lected and  placed  under  cover,  he  permitted  the  troops  to 
take  the  corn  to  sleep  on  and  feed  their  horses.  Much  of  it 
was  used  as  fuel,  and  all  that  was  not  consumed  was  spoiled, 
and  yet  there  were  mills  on  the  ground  and  also  ovens.  But 
even  from  the  commencement  of  the  march,  the  com- 


200  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

missariat  arrangements  for  the  troops  were  anything  but 
lavish. 

When  the  force  left  Teruel  they  were  supplied  with  four 
days'  bread  and  seven  days'  rice.  No  meat  was  issued  to 
them  for  six  days,  and  then  they  only  received  half  a  pound 
a  man;  and  yet  during  the  march  the  troops  were  ascending 
to  high  ground,  the  rain  fell  in  torrents,  and  the  temperature 
was  much  lower  than  that  to  which  they  were  accustomed. 
By  the  13th  of  August  the  allowance  fell  to  six  ounces  of  rice 
and  two  ounces  of  bread;  and  on  the  17th,  the  last  day  of 
the  siege,  the  troops  were  almost  without  food.  The  cavalry 
horses  and  other  animals,  numbering  at  least  three  thousand, 
had  already  been  two  days  without  forage,  and  had  had  no 
barley  since  they  started,  twenty-four  days  before.  The 
other  divisions  were  no  better  off.  Even  these  scanty  sup- 
plies had  been  maintained  with  the  greatest  difficulty.  Five 
battalions  had  to  be  employed  in  keeping  the  road  open.  The 
siege  artillery  should  have  been  brought  up  in  two  days,  but 
seven  were  found  necessary.  The  army  being  assembled 
moved  round  to  the  other  side  of  Morella,  having  to  fight 
hard  to  gain  the  position. 

San  Miguel's  division  did  not  bring  up  their  guns  till  the 
9th  of  August,  the  operation  being  conducted  so  carelessly 
that  the  road  was  left  open  for  the  Carlists,  who  kept  up  a 
constant  fire  and  killed  one  hundred  and  fifty  men.  On  the 
10th  the  siege  began.  The  troops  took  up  their  position,  and 
drove  a  portion  of  the  Carlist  levies  back  on  Morella.  Next 
day,  however,  San  Miguel  was  ordered  to  make  an  attack 
upon  a  position  occupied  by  the  Carlists,  which  interfered 
with  the  movements  of  a  body  of  troops  about  to  proceed 
down  to  escort  a  convoy  of  provisions.  Cabrera  reinforced 
the  threatened  point.  San  Miguel  attacked  boldly,  and  car- 
ried three  positions  one  after  another;  at  the  fourth,  how- 
ever, he  was  so  strongly  opposed  that  Oraa  ordered  him  to 
retreat,  as  he  did  not  consider  the  position  of  sufficient  im- 
portance to  justify  further  fighting.  The  attack,  however, 


A  FIASCO  201 

was  so  far  successful  that  the  force  sent  to  escort  the  con- 
voy managed  to  make  its  way  down. 

On  the  12th  the  heavy  artillery  was  taken  to  the  places 
fixed  upon  for  the  establishment  of  the  batteries.  The  guns 
were  placed  about  five  hundred  yards  away  from  the  walls, 
the  mortars  twice  that  distance.  The  next  day  was  devoted 
to  erecting  the  batteries,  and  these  opened  fire  at  daybreak 
on  the  14th  of  August.  The  shooting  was  far  from  accu- 
rate, and  the  enemy's  return  was  steady.  The  spot  selected 
to  be  breached  was  a  gate  between  and  flanked  by  two  tow- 
ers, known  as  the  gate  of  San  Miguel.  Directly  Cabrera  saw 
the  point  about  to  be  attacked,  he  began  to  construct  a  strong 
retrenchment  behind  it,  with  a  parapet  and  ditch,  defended 
by  chevaux-de-frise;  and  the  following  day,  when  the  breach 
began  to  be  formed,  he  heaped  up  on  it  a  great  quantity  of 
combustibles.  Although  the  breach  was  very  imperfect,  Oraa 
issued  orders  for  an  assault  on  the  evening  of  the  15th.  To 
the  English  officers  with  the  besiegers  it  looked  like  an  act  of 
madness,  but  Oraa  felt  that  success  must  be  instant,  or  the 
siege  must  be  given  up  on  account  of  the  impossibility  of 
feeding  the  troops. 

The  attacking  columns  were  formed  in  rear  of  the  bat- 
teries, where  they  remained  for  three  hours,  and  then  ad- 
vanced, with  bands  playing,  to  go  within  a  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  of  the  breach.  The  broken  nature  of  the  ground  threw 
them  into  confusion.  It  was  midnight  before  they  arrived 
at  the  breach,  and  up  to  this  time  dead  silence  had  reigned 
in  Morella.  By  the  music,  if  by  no  other  means,  the  garrison 
were  kept  perfectly  informed  of  the  motion  and  progress  of 
their  enemies,  but  Cabrera  had  issued  strict  orders  that  they 
should  remain  silent  until  the  troops  had  reached  the  foot 
of  the  breach. 

The  moment  they  arrived  there  a  brilliant  flame  darted 
up  from  the  breach,  and  a  tremendous  fire  of  bullets,  hand- 
grenades,  and  stones  burst  upon  them.  The  red  glare  rose 
higher  and  higher,  and  the  men,  enfeebled  by  hunger  and 


202  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

fatigue,  stood  appalled.1  Many,  however,  rushed  forward 
with  desperate  bravery,  only  to  fall  under  the  storm  of  mis- 
siles; and  at  last  they  fell  back,  finding  it  absolutely  impos- 
sible to  surmount  the  obstacles  posted  there.  Never  were 
men  sent  upon  a  more  hopeless  task. 

That  evening  the  earnestly-looked-for  convoy  arrived.  It 
had  had  to  fight  the  whole  distance  up.  Half  the  waggons 
had  been  lost  and  over  eighty  men.  The  next  day  passed 
quietly,  and  then  it  was  decided  to  make  another  assault  at 
daybreak  on  the  17th,  although  no  attempt  had  been  made 
to  enlarge  the  breach  or  render  it  more  practicable. 

Fifteen  hundred  men  advanced  at  daybreak  in  two  col- 
umns, provided  with  ladders  and  sand-bags  with  which  to 
climb  the  bottom  of  the  breach,  where  the  wall  had  not  been 
destroyed.  As  they  advanced  they  were  received  with  a 
heavy  fire  of  artillery  and  musketry ;  the  fire  again  blazed  up 
on  the  breach.  The  left  column,  on  reaching  the  foot  of  the 
wall  and  climbing  the  ladders,  found  them  too  short,  and  fell 
back  in  great  disorder.  The  right  column  in  front  of  the 
breach  found  it  impossible  to  ascend  unassisted,  and  the 
space  was  too  confined  to  admit  of  the  formation  of  any 
number  of  troops.  At  only  one  place,  and  this  very  narrow 
and  steep,  was  it  possible  to  climb,  and  many  officers  and 
men  who  tried  to  make  their  way  up  died  in  the  attempt. 

Seeing  the  absolute  hopelessness  of  the  attack,  Oraa  or- 
dered a  retreat,  and  the  troops  fell  back,  having  lost  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy-six  killed  and  wounded.  It  was  at  once 
decided  to  raise  the  siege.  Without  provisions  or  ammu- 
nition it  would  have  been  madness  to  persevere.  The  retreat 
was  accompanied  by  terrible  hardships.  Thr  /  were  continu- 
ously harassed  by  swarms  of  guerillas ;  the  m^/ches  were  slow 
and  short;  the  wounded  were  carried  in  hundreds  on  doors 
and  window-shutters;  and  when,  five  days  later,  the  army 
reached  Alcaniz,  it  was  found  that  it  brought  down  fifteen 
hundred  wounded  in  addition  to  the  dead  left  behind. 

Arthur  had  not  been  present  at  the  two  assaults.     He  had 


A   FIASCO  203 

ridden  down  with  the  troops  that  left  on  the  12th,  and  when 
these  were  attacked  had,  at  the  request  of  the  officer  in  com- 
mand, ridden  up  to  a  small  tower  where  twenty  men  were 
posted  to  keep  down  the  fire  of  the  surrounding  Carlists. 
They  were  to  have  been  drawn  off  as  the  troops  passed,  but 
the  Carlists  interposed  in  such  great  force  between  them  and 
the  main  body  that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  sally  out. 

"  There  is  nothing  to  do,"  Arthur  said  to  the  officer  in 
command  of  the  little  party,  "  but  to  defend  ourselves  here. 
They  may  leave  us  alone.  Pardenas  will  be  back  with  the 
convoy  to-morrow,  and  then  we  shall  be  relieved." 

"  It  is  a  pity  that  you  did  not  bring  your  horse  with  you, 
sir;  you  might  then  have  managed  to  escape." 

"  I  certainly  should  not  have  left  you  in  the  lurch.  I  did 
not  bring  the  horses  with  me  because  I  knew  that,  as  our 
pace  would  be  very  slow,  it  would  be  easier  to  go  on  foot. 
Now,  we  had  better  set  to  work  at  once;  as  soon  as  the  Car- 
lists  have  finished  with  the  convoy  they  will  come  back  to 
us." 

The  place  was  an  old  fortified  house,  now  almost  a  ruin. 
Stones  were  piled  in  the  doorway,  and  all  prepared  for  a 
desperate  defence.  It  was  not  long  before  parties  of  Car- 
lists  drew  off  from  those  harassing  the  column  and  ap- 
proached the  house.  They  shouted  to  the  soldiers  to  sur- 
render, but  these  replied  with  musket  shots.  When  some 
two  hundred  men  had  assembled  round  the  place  the  assault 
began.  The  men  defended  themselves  bravely,  and  many  of 
the  assailants  fell,  and  all  drew  off  several  times.  When 
darkness  came  on,  however,  they  crawled  up  to  the  house  and 
set  to  work  to  pull  down  the  barricade  at  the  entrance.  The 
defenders  went  up  to  the  top  of  the  house  and  dropped  stones 
down  upon  them.  For  some  time  the  fight  went  on,  but  grad- 
ually the  stones  of  the  barricade  were  dislodged,  and  a  storm 
of  fire  drove  away  its  defenders.  The  officer  in  command 
had  fallen,  and  Arthur  called  the  men  up  into  the  story 
above.  Here  the  defence  continued  until  only  five  men  were 


204:  WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION 

left.  The  Carlists,  however,  had  suffered  so  heavily  that 
they  drew  back  once  more,  and  summoned  the  defenders  to 
surrender." 

"  It  is  no  use  fighting  any  longer,  Roper,"  Arthur  said  to 
his  follower,  who  was  sitting  on  the  floor  with  a  bullet 
through  his  leg.  "  What  do  you  say,  lads  ?  " 

"  We  have  done  all  we  can  do,"  they  said.  "  They  have 
promised  us  our  lives.  We  are  ready  to  surrender.  We  can 
be  no  worse  off  even  if  they  don't  keep  their  word.  We  shall 
certainly  be  killed  if  we  hold  out  any  longer." 

"We  will  surrender,"  Arthur  called  down,  "if  you  will 
swear  to  spare  our  lives.  If  you  won't  do  that,  we  will  fight 
on;  and  it  will  cost  you  a  good  many  lives  before  you  over- 
power us." 

There  was  a  consultation  below,  and  then  an  officer  came 
forward  and  said: 

"  We  promise  you  your  lives  if  you  surrender." 

Arthur  at  once  went  down  the  stairs  and  handed  his  sword 
to  the  officer.  The  men  followed  him,  leaving  their  muskets 
above,  two  of  them  assisting  Roper  downstairs. 

"  You  are  brave  fellows,"  the  Carlist  said,  "  and  have  cost 
us  dearly.  However,  you  did  your  duty  as  we  have  done 
ours.  How  many  of  you  have  fallen  ? " 

"  Fifteen  and  the  officer  commanding." 

"You  have  cost  us  double  that  number.  Well,  we  will 
stop  here  for  the  night." 

The  bodies  of  those  who  had  fallen  were  carried  out  of 
the  house,  and  some  fifty  of  the  Carlists  established  them- 
selves there.  The  prisoners  were  ordered  into  the  room 
above,  and  four  of  their  captors  were  told  off  with  muskets 
to  watch  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs.  Arthur  had  now  time  to 
examine  and  bandage  Roper's  leg.  The  ball  had  broken  his 
ankle,  and  Arthur  first  put  some  rolls  of  cloth  round  it,  and 
then  cut  some  pieces  of  wood  and  put  his  foot  into  splints 
and  bandaged  them  with  his  sash. 

"I  am  awfully  sorry,  Roper.    I  am  afraid  you  will  have 


A    FIASCO  205 

to  go  through  a  good  deal  of  agony  before  you  can  get  your 
leg  properly  attended  to." 

"  It  cannot  be  helped,"  the  man  said.  "  I  have  no  reason 
to  grumble.  I  have  been  through  a  good  many  fights,  and 
this  is  the  first  time  I  have  been  hit." 

"  Well,  I  wish  we  had  been  caught  anywhere  else.  It 
would  have  been  a  nuisance  being  made  prisoner  in  any  other 
part  of  Spain,  but  I  certainly  do  not  fancy  falling  into  Ca- 
brera's hands  again.  After  the  way  we  robbed  him  of  his 
prey  last  time,  we  can  expect  no  mercy  from  him  now.  Of 
course,  the  fact  that  we  have  been  taken  actually  fighting 
against  him  does  away  with  any  claim  one  might  set  up  on 
the  ground  of  being  neutrals.  I  don't  suppose  they  can  take 
us  to  Cabrera  yet  at  any  rate,  and  we  may  have  some  chance 
of  making  our  escape  before  they  do.  I  certainly  shall  not 
try  to  get  away  unless  you  are  well  enough  to  make  off  with 
me.  I  am  afraid  that  that  is  not  likely  to  be  for  some  time." 

"  No,  I  hope  you  will  not  think  of  such  a  thing  as  that," 
Eoper  said  earnestly.  "In  the  first  place,  your  remaining 
here  with  me  could  do  me  no  good ;  on  the  contrary,  it  might 
do  me  harm,  for  Cabrera  will  probably  recognize  you,  and 
I  should  be  sure  to  share  your  fate.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
you  were  away  he  certainly  would  not  know  me,  and  I  should 
have  as  good  a  chance  as  any  of  the  others." 

"I  don't  think  that  would  make  any  difference,  and  in- 
deed, if  you  were  alone  the  chances  are  that  you  would  be 
shot  at  once,  as  these  men  would  not  trouble  to  carry  a 
wounded  prisoner  along  with  them,  whereas  with  me  a  pris- 
oner, they  would  consider  that  you  should  receive  as  good 
treatment  as  I  until  Cabrera  gives  some  orders  respecting 
us." 

In  the  morning  the  prisoners  were  marched  up  into  the 
mountains,  and  the  next  day  the  party,  which  was  now 
swollen  by  many  others,  went  down  to  the  brow  of  a  hill  near 
Morella.  The  Christino  prisoners  were  made  to  carry  Roper, 
who  suffered  a  great  deal  from  pain  in  his  ankle.  Here  they 


206  WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION 

remained  for  a  week.  The  greater  portion  of  the  Carlists 
went  off  every  day  to  take  part  in  the  fighting;  and  on  the 
occasion  of  the  two  assaults  on  the  fortress  all  watched  with 
intense  interest  the  struggles  at  the  breach,  and  went  into 
ecstasies  of  delight  at  each  repulse  of  the  assailants. 

When  the  army  began  its  retreat  a  guard  of  ten  men  re- 
mained with  the  prisoners,  and  the  rest  went  away  to  join 
in  harassing  the  retreating  foe,  and  it  was  a  week  before 
they  returned.  The  inflammation  in  Koper's  leg  had  now 
somewhat  subsided.  Arthur  kept  it  continually  bathed,  and 
it  had  twice  been  dressed  by  a  surgeon  who  came  up  to  attend 
to  the  wounded  Carlists  who  were  also  there.  Two  days 
passed,  and  then,  just  as  it  was  getting  dusk  one  evening, 
Cabrera  rode  in.  He  chatted  for  some  time  to  the  men,  and 
then  said: 

"  I  hear  that  you  have  an  officer  a  prisoner  here.  Let  me 
see  him." 

Arthur  was  brought  up  to  the  light  of  the  fire.  Cabrera 
started  on  seeing  his  uniform,  and  then  seizing  a  brand  held 
it  close  to  the  prisoner's  face. 

"  Ah,"  he  said,  "  so  I  have  laid  hands  on  you  at  last.  This 
is  your  second  visit  to  our  camp,  senor  Englishman.  Last 
time  you  were  received  as  a  British  commissioner,  and  you 
abused  the  permission  by  interfering  in  my  plans,  by  killing 
two  of  my  men,  and  by  carrying  off  a  prisoner  condemned 
to  death.  I  hear  that  you  were  captured  this  time  when 
fighting  with  the  Christines,  and  have  therefore  forfeited  all 
right  to  protection  from  your  uniform.  Tie  this  man  to  a 
tree,  and  shoot  him  at  daybreak !  " 

His  instructions  were  at  once  followed,  and  Arthur  was 
fastened  by  a  leathern  thong  wound  tightly  round  and  round 
his  body. 

"  His  servant  is  also  here,"  one  of  the  men  said ;  "  he  has 
a  broken  leg." 

"  Put  him  by  the  side  of  his  master.  Shoot  them  both  in 
the  morning  I " 


A    FIASCO  207 

"I  don't  ask  mercy  for  myself,  Cabrera.  I  know  that  it 
would  be  hopeless  to  do  so  from  such  a  bloodthirsty  ruffian 
as  yourself;  but  this  poor  fellow  has  only  acted  under  my 
orders,  and  is  entitled  to  fair  treatment." 

Cabrera,  who  was  standing  by  the  fire  a  few  yards  away, 
turned  round  angrily. 

"  You  dare  to  insult  me  before  my  soldiers  ? "  he  said  furi- 
ously. "  Dog  of  an  Englishman !  " 

"  Insult  you  ? "  Arthur  repeated.  "  Is  it  possible  to  insult 
you?  Do  you  not  glory  in  your  crimes?  Is  there  a  true 
man  in  Spain  who  does  not  spit  on  the  ground  when  he  hears 
the  name  of  such  a  monster  ? " 

Cabrera  caught  a  musket  from  the  hand  of  one  of  his 
men,  levelled  it,  and  fired.  Arthur  felt  a  stinging  pain  in 
his  arm;  then  he  felt  the  leathern  thong  that  bound  him 
slacken,  unwind  itself,  and  fall  off — it  had  been  cut  by  the 
bullet.  Quick  as  thought  he  slipped  round  the  tree  and 
dashed  off  at  the  top  of  his  speed.  So  quickly  had  this  taken 
place  that  it  was  a  few  seconds  before  the  Carlists  under- 
stood what  had  happened;  and  he  had  gained  forty  or  fifty 
yards  before,  with  a  yell,  the  whole  of  them  started  after 
him.  But  night  had  now  completely  fallen,  and  he  was  al- 
ready almost  out  of  sight.  A  dozen  muskets  were  dis- 
charged at  random,  but  he  was  untouched,  and  running  at 
the  top  of  his  speed  he  began  to  descend  the  slope  behind  the 
Ihill.  Going  uphill  he  knew  that  the  Carlists,  sturdy  moun- 
taineers, would  have  speedily  overtaken  him,  but  he  felt  sure 
that  downhill  he  could  leave  them;  hampered  by  their  mus- 
kets and  their  heavy  shoes  they  would  have  little  chance  of 
catching  him.  He  ran  for  a  few  hundred  yards.  The  mob 
of  men  behind  him  were  now  out  of  sight,  and  when  he 
came  to  a  great  rock  he  threw  himself  down  behind  it. 

In  half  a  minute  the  crowd  of  men  ran  past.  As  soon  as 
they  had  done  so,  he  got  up  and  listened.  There  were  none 
behind  him,  and  he  turned  and  ran  up  the  hill  again.  When 
he  reached  the  place  he  saw,  as  he  expected,  Cabrera  stand- 


208  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

ing  alone  by  the  fire,  the  whole  of  the  men  having  joined  in 
the  chase.  Had  he  been  armed  he  would  have  rushed  to 
attack  him,  but  being  without  a  weapon  he  broke  into  a 
walk,  and,  making  a  slight  circuit,  kept  the  tree  by  which 
Roper  had  been  placed  between  him  and  the  fire.  Stepping 
very  quietly  he  moved  up  to  it. 

"  Hush,  Eoper,"  he  whispered,  "  it  is  I." 

Roper  in  his  excitement  had  managed  to  raise  himself  up, 
and  had  worked  himself  round  a  tree,  where  he  was  stand- 
ing listening  to  the  shots  in  the  distance. 

"  Put  your  arms  round  my  neck,"  Arthur  said,  "  and  get 
on  my  back." 

"No,  no,  sir;  don't  you  hamper  yourself  with  me." 

"  Shut  up ! "  Arthur  said,  "  and  do  as  I  tell  you.  I  am 
not  going  without  you." 

Roper  did  as  he  was  told,  got  on  to  Arthur's  back,  and 
held  on  with  his  knees  and  his  arms. 

"  Get  up  as  high  as  you  can,"  Arthur  said,  and  putting  his 
arms  under  the  man's  knees  he  started  off  as  he  had  come, 
still  keeping  the  tree  between  him  and  the  fire.  When  he 
felt  that  he  was  beyond  the  circle  of  light,  he  turned  off  and 
made  away  in  the  other  direction.  For  three  hours  he 
walked  on,  stopping  occasionally  and  putting  Roper  down, 
and  then  after  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  rest  going  on.  His 
progress  was  slow,  as  he  had  to  pick  his  way  between  rocks 
and  bushes;  but  at  the  end  of  three  hours  he  felt  certain 
that  he  was  out  of  sight  of  anyone  on  the  hills  above  Mo- 
rella,  and  he  lay  down  in  a  thick  clump  of  bushes. 

"That  will  do  for  to-night,  Roper,"  he  said.  "I  don't 
think  I  can  go  any  farther,  and  I  think  we  are  fairly  safe 
here.  We  shall  have  to  lie  quiet  all  to-morrow,  for  there 
may  still  be  some  parties  hanging  about  or  harassing  the 
troops.  I  think  it  has  been  a  pretty  well-managed  affair." 

"First-rate,  sir;  but  I  am  sorry  you  have  burdened  your- 
self with  me." 

"  Don't  talk  nonsense,  Roper;  we  are  just  as  likely  to  make 


A   FIASCO  209 

off  thus,  as  if  I  had  been  by  myself.  Now  the  first  thing  to 
do  is  to  put  a  handkerchief  round  my  arm.  That  ball  went 
between  it  and  my  body,  and  it  is  not  much  more  than  a 
graze;  still,  I  fancy  it  has  been  bleeding  a  good  deal,  for  I 
have  felt  weaker  for  the  last  hour  or  so." 

He  took  off  his  coat  and  cut  off  the  sleeve  of  the  shirt,  and 
Koper  then  tore  it  up  and  bound  it  round  the  wound.  Then 
he  put  on  his  coat  again,  and  they  lay  down  together  for 
warmth. 

"How  furious  Cabrera  will  be  when  they  all  come  back 
and  say  they  cannot  find  me!  I  don't  suppose  they  will 
think  anything  about  you  till  the  morning.  They  will  hardly 
guess  that  I  came  back  for  you,  but  will  think  that  you 
crawled  away  a  short  distance,  and  will  hunt  about  for  you 
in  the  neighbourhood.  I  should  like  to  hear  Cabrera's  re- 
marks when  they  come  back  empty-handed.  Well,  I  shall 
not  want  rocking  to  sleep,  I  fancy  that  five  minutes  will  do 
for  me." 

When  they  woke  up  it  was  broad  daylight.  Arthur  got 
up,  went  to  the  edge  of  the  bushes,  and  looked  out. 

"  I  see  nobody  about,"  he  said ;  "  but  at  any  rate  we  must 
wait  here  till  it  gets  dark.  Cabrera  will  keep  the  men  look- 
ing for  me  all  day.  There  is  a  patch  of  uncut  wheat  a  short 
distance  away.  I  will  go  and  cut  an  armful,  it  will  be  some- 
thing for  us  to  munch ; "  and  he  went  out  and  broke  off  the 
heads  of  as  much  grain  as  he  could  carry,  and  brought  it 
back  to  their  shelter.  They  passed  the  day  munching  the 
wheat  and  talking,  and  sometimes  sleeping. 

"  There  is  a  house  that  looks  as  if  it  were  in  ruins  on  a 
rise  two  miles  away.  I  will  try  to  get  there  to-night.  It 
is  not  at  all  likely  to  be  visited  by  the  Carlists.  As  we  go 
we  will  cut  as  much  wheat  as  we  can  carry  in  our  clothes, 
and  take  up  our  station  there." 

"  Well,  I  have  been  thinking,  sir,  that  if  you  could  cut  a 
good  strong  sapling  with  a  fork,  for  me  to  use  as  a  crutch, 
I  could  make  shift  to  get  along." 


210  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

"  I  can  carry  you  very  well,  Roper." 

"I  would  much  rather  that  you  made  me  a  crutch,  sir. 
Your  arm  is  certainly  not  fit  for  use,  and  I  would  much 
rather  try  the  other  way;  then  if  I  find  I  can't  get  on,  you 
could  carry  me." 

Searching  about  among  the  clump  Arthur  found  a  suit- 
able sapling.  He  had  been  deprived  of  his  sword  when 
captured,  but  his  pockets  had  not  been  searched,  and  he  had 
still  his  knife  with  him.  He  cut  and  trimmed  a  stick,  and, 
with  Roper's  cloak  wound  round  and  round  it,  it  answered 
well  as  a  crutch. 

They  started  as  soon  as  it  was  dark,  gathered  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  grain  to  last  them  for  some  days,  and  then  made 
their  way  to  the  house.  They  crossed  a  little  stream  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  away,  and  there  drank  heartily.  Arthur  had 
gathered  a  faggot  of  dry  sticks  on  the  way,  and  when  they 
arrived  at  the  house  they  made  a  fire  in  a  corner  and  sat 
there  talking  for  an  hour  or  two,  then,  wrapping  themselves 
in  their  cloaks,  lay  down  to  sleep. 

Next  morning  they  explored  the  place.  The  roof  was  gone, 
but  they  found  that  there  was  a  staircase  leading  up  to  a 
turret,  and  that  the  upper  chamber  of  this  was  still  intact. 
Here  they  determined  to  establish  themselves. 

"  We  had  better  wait  here  for  a  fortnight,  Roper ;  by  that 
time  you  may  be  able  to  walk.  It  is  certain  that  Carlists 
will  be  moving  about  between  here  and  Alcaniz,  and  it  would 
be  very  dangerous  to  try  and  make  our  way  down  there. 
We  shall  be  losing  nothing,  for  we  may  be  sure  that  it  will 
be  some  time  before  Oraa  will  make  another  advance  again. 
When  I  go  out  next,  I  will  cut  a  couple  of  good  clubs.  If 
only  two  or  three  Carlists  happen  to  drop  in  here,  we  may 
be  able  to  defend  ourselves;  at  any  rate  it  will  be  a  comfort 
to  have  some  means  of  making  a  fight  for  our  lives.  We  will 
carry  away  the  ashes  of  our  fire,  so  that  any  party  that 
comes  in  will  not  discover  that  the  place  has  been  inhabited. 
It  is  not  likely  that  anyone  entering  will  take  the  trouble 
to  come  up  here." 


A   FIASCO  211 

Four  days  passed.  Each  day  Arthur  collected  sufficient 
faggots  for  their  fire  in  the  evening.  As  long  as  this  burned, 
he  kept  their  coats  hanging  against  the  loophole  to  prevent 
the  glow  from  being  seen  from  without.  Every  morning  at 
daybreak,  and  every  evening  after  dark,  he  went  down  to 
the  stream  and  brought  up  with  him,  full  of  water,  a  broken 
vessel  he  had  found.  On  the  third  evening  they  saw  a  party 
of  twenty  men  approaching.  They  at  once  went  up  to  their 
turret-room.  Roper  was  now  getting  accustomed  to  the  use 
of  the  crutch,  and  was  able  to  make  his  way  about  with  some 
little  activity.  The  men  came  in,  and  Arthur,  descending 
the  stairs,  heard  them  agree  to  sleep  there  for  the  night.  Sev- 
eral went  out  to  get  wood,  and  presently  a  great  bonfire  was 
burning  within,  and  some  meat  was  cut  from  a  calf  they  had 
brought  in,  and  cooked.  After  eating  their  supper  the  men 
sat  chatting  around  the  fire.  Later  on  one  of  them  said: 

"  They  say  this  old  house  is  haunted.  Years  ago  a  robber 
lived  here  who  preyed  on  travellers.  They  say  that  he  once 
carried  off  a  maiden  in  the  night.  Screams  were  heard,  and 
the  girl  jumped  off  the  top  of  the  turret  and  was  killed. 
After  that  her  spirit  haunted  the  place,  groans  and  cries 
were  heard  nightly  in  the  turret ;  and  as  even  robbers  would 
not  stop  here,  the  house  fell  into  decay.  Once  or  twice  trav- 
ellers have  spent  the  night  here,  and  have  always  been  obliged 
to  leave  it  owing  to  the  dreadful  noises.  This  was  a  hun- 
dred years  ago." 

Silence  followed  this  recital,  then  one  said: 

"  No  doubt  the  ghost  is  laid  by  this  time,  and  I  for  one 
vote  against  leaving  this  good  fire  and  going  outside  to 
shiver  all  night." 

Two  or  three  others  agreed,  and  the  talk  went  on  as  be- 
fore; but,  as  Arthur  could  detect,  there  was  no  longer  the 
same  tone  of  jollity,  and  pauses  in  the  conversation  were 
frequent.  At  about  eleven  o'clock  the  talk  died  away,  and 
it  was  evident  that  the  men  were  lying  down  to  sleep.  He 
went  up  to  Roper  and  told  him  of  what  he  had  heard. 


212  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

"I  tell  you  what,  Roper;  I  have  set  my  mind  on  having 
some  of  that  calf.  We  have  been  living  on  grain  for  the 
past  fortnight,  and  the  smell  of  the  meat  cooking  has  worked 
me  up  to  such  a  point  that  I  feel  I  must  get  a  share  of  it 
whatever  happens.  I  have  been  thinking  it  over,  and  I  feel 
sure  we  can  manage  it.  What  they  have  been  saying  has 
put  the  idea  into  my  head.  We  will  give  them  a  scare.  If 
they  hear  nothing  they  may  station  themselves  in  this  house 
for  some  days,  and  in  the  morning  one  of  them  may  take 
it  into  his  head  to  come  up  here.  First  of  all,  I  will  strike 
twelve  heavy  blows  with  my  stick  on  the  floor,  then  we  will 
give  some  deep  groans  and  shriek  in  as  unearthly  tones  as 
we  can.  You  may  be  sure  that  will  send  them  flying  out." 


CHAPTER  XIH 

A  DESPERATE  ATTEMPT 

ARTHUR  struck  as  hard  as  he  could  twelve  blows  with 
his  stick.  He  listened;  there  was  a  dead  silence  be- 
low. Then  he  gave  three  deep  groans,  while  Roper  followed 
with  a  succession  of  such  wild  screams  and  cat-calls  that 
Arthur  found  himself  unable  for  a  minute  to  continue. 
Then  he  relieved  himself  with  some  loud  quavering  laugh- 
ter, and  the  two  kept  up  an  almost  demoniac  noise  for  two 
or  three  minutes.  They  had  heard  a  wild  rush  below,  and 
Arthur,  going  to  the  loophole,  heard  the  men  shouting  and 
running  terror-stricken  in  the  distance.  Then  they  had  a 
good  laugh  over  the  fright  they  had  given  the  Carlists,  and 
knew  that  they  could  now  lie  down  and  sleep  till  morning. 

"  The  peasants  are  fearfully  superstitious,  and  would  not 
come  near  this  place  again  to-night  if  they  were  offered  fifty 
guineas  apiece.  However,  I  would  not  answer  for  them  in 
the  morning,  so  as  soon  as  it  begins  to  be  light  we  will  go 


A    DESPEKATE     ATTEMPT  213 

out  at  that  gap  at  the  back  of  the  house,  and  hide  up  for  a 
bit  in  the  bushes.  They  may  muster  up  courage  enough  to 
come  back,  but  I  don't  think  they  will." 

Accordingly  they  went  out  in  the  morning  and  hid  in 
some  bushes  a  hundred  yards  from  the  house.  Three  hours 
passed,  and  as  there  were  no  signs  of  the  Carlists,  they  went 
down  to  the  house  again.  Here  they  found  that  the  Carlists 
had  left  half  the  calf  behind  them,  and  they  cooked  some 
slices  and  made  a  hearty  breakfast. 

Four  more  days  passed,  and  then  Roper  said  that  although 
he  could  not  yet  put  his  foot  to  the  ground,  he  was  quite 
sure  that  with  the  help  of  the  crutch  he  could  hobble  at  any 
rate  four  or  five  miles. 

"We  cannot  try  to  get  across  this  rough  country.  We 
must  take  to  the  road;  we  know  it  runs  something  like  a 
mile  in  front  of  the  house.  We  shall  have  to  keep  our  ears 
open,  in  case  any  Carlists  should  be  near;  but,  if  we  hear  a 
party  coming,  as  there  is  no  moon  we  shall  only  have  to  go 
thirty  or  forty  yards  from  the  road  and  lie  down  till  they 
have  passed." 

They  slept  all  day,  and  started  as  soon  as  night  fell. 
Roper  found  it  harder  work  than  he  had  expected,  but  he 
hobbled  on,  stopping  every  two  or  three  hundred  yards  to 
rest.  After  going,  as  near  as  they  could  calculate,  four 
miles,  they  saw  a  light  on  the  road  ahead  of  them,  and  felt 
sure  that  it  was  a  Carlist  outpost.  They  accordingly  left  the 
road,  and  going  some  four  or  five  hundred  yards  to  the  left, 
lay  down  among  some  rough  rocks.  In  the  morning  they  could 
make  out  ten  Carlists.  They  kept  quiet  all  day,  and  during 
that  time  made  a  careful  examination  of  the  ground  in  front 
of  them,  as  it  was  evident  that  they  would  have  to  keep  off 
the  road  until  well  past  the  Carlist  outpost,  which  was,  no 
doubt,  close  to  a  spot  from  which  it  could  command  a  view 
of  a  long  stretch  of  the  road  ahead. 

When  darkness  was  coming  on,  they  made  a  meal  of  veal, 
which  they  had  cooked  before  starting,  and  corn.  As  soon 


214:  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

as  it  was  quite  dark  they  started.  The  ground  was  rough, 
and  Arthur  had  to  support  Roper  for  a  considerable  dis- 
tance. The  fire  was  an  indication  of  the  exact  point  where 
the  outpost  was  keeping  watch,  but  as  two  sentries  might  be 
thrown  out  a  mile  farther  ahead,  they  did  not  dare  go  down 
on  to  the  road.  By  morning  they  had  not  gone  more  than 
two  miles,  so  painful  had  been  the  work  of  making  their  way 
along  through  the  rocks.  They  could  see  no  one  on  the 
road,  and  lay  down  in  shelter  with  the  firm  belief  that  they 
should  get  to  Alcaniz  the  next  night.  That  evening  they 
started  again,  and  taking  to  the  road  kept  on  steadily  all 
night,  and  to  their  satisfaction  saw,  when  morning  dawned, 
the  town  of  Alcaniz  but  a  mile  away. 

Arthur  was  heartily  greeted  on  his  arrival,  and  found  to 
his  great  satisfaction  that  his  two  horses  had  been  brought 
down  by  an  English  officer.  "I  had  really  very  little  hope 
of  y.our  returning.  I  quite  gave  you  up  when  it  was  found 
that  you  were  not  with  us  when  we  got  here,  and  my  hopes 
faded  altogether  when  you  failed  to  come  in  after  our  mis- 
erable failure  to  take  the  place.  Your  man  seems  to  have 
fared  very  badly." 

"  Yes.  He  had  an  ankle  broken  by  a  musket-shot  the  day 
we  were  cut  off;  however,  it  is  healing  nicely,  though  I  don't 
think  he  will  ever  have  the  use  of  the  joint  again." 

"  Well,  come  into  my  quarters  and  bring  him  with  you.  I 
should  think,  probably,  that  you  are  wanting  something  to 
eat?" 

"That  I  am.  I  may  say  that  since  we  have  been  taken 
prisoners  we  have  had  nothing  but  corn  to  eat,  till  three 
days  ago,  when  we  were  lucky  enough  to  get  some  veal  which 
we  frightened  a  party  of  Carlists  into  leaving  behind  for 
us." 

Giving  Roper  into  the  hands  of  an  orderly,  who  was 
charged  to  give  him  something  to  eat  as  soon  as  possible, 
Lieutenant  Lines  took  Arthur  up  to  his  quarters.  In  half 
an  hour  an  ample  meal  was  set  before  him. 


A    DESPERATE     ATTEMPT  215 

"Now,  tell  me  your  adventures,"  Arthur's  host  said,  as 
they  lit  their  cigarettes. 

Arthur  gave  a  full  account  of  them. 

"  Well,  you  are  not  born  to  be  shot,  Hallett,  that  is  quite 
evident.  That  fight  in  the  old  house  was  a  hard  one,  as  you 
lost  fifteen  out  of  twenty,  but  to  come  out  of  that  unharmed 
was  nothing  to  your  escape  from  Cabrera's  shot  at  thirty 
yards  distance.  And  your  rescue  of-  your  man  was  splendid ! 
The  poor  fellow  must  have  had  a  bad  time  of  it." 

"  Yes ;  and  he  never  complained  once,  though  I  could  see 
at  times  that  he  was  suffering  abominably.  I  was  horribly 
afraid,  as  we  made  our  way  down,  that  he  would  fall  among 
the  rocks,  much  as  I  tried  to  steady  him ;  and  if  he  had  done 
so,  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  would  have  lost  his  foot.  As  it 
is,  I  hope  it  will  not  be  long  before  he  is  riding  behind  me 
again.  I  suppose  there  is  nothing  new  here  ? " 

"  Nothing  whatever,  except  grumbling.  The  artillery  de- 
clare that  they  did  their  work  well;  everyone  else  says  that 
they  did  it  badly.  They  declare  that  the  infantry  ought  to 
have  carried  the  place,  which  we  know  the  best  troops  in  the 
world  could  not  have  done;  and  the  cavalry  and  infantry 
declare  that  every  man- jack  of  the  engineers  ought  to  be 
hanged." 

"  Well,  I  don't  know  that  they  are  not  all  right,"  Arthur 
laughed.  "  From  the  place  where  I  was  standing  you  could 
see  straight  into  town.  '  There  was  a  great  retrenchment  be- 
hind the  breach,  and  had  they  got  up  the  breach,  and  through 
the  fire  at  the  top,  they  would  simply  have  been  mown  down 
like  sheep.  But,  after  all,  the  man  who  ought  to  be  hanged 
is  Oraa;  he  blundered  hideously  from  the  moment  we 
started.  We  arrived  before  the  town  without  provisions, 
and  he  acted  as  if  he  had  only  a  village  with  a  mud  wall 
to  storm  instead  of  a  really  formidable  fortress.  He  cer- 
tainly would  be  tried  by  court-martial  and  shot  in  any  other 
European  country.  As  it  is,  I  hope  he  may  never  be  em- 
ployed again.  At  any  rate,  there  is  no  chance  of  anything 


216  WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION 

being  done  for  some  time.  This  business  has  ruined  Espar- 
tero's  plans  in  the  north,  where  he  was,  as  you  know,  pre- 
paring to  besiege  Estella;  but  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
this  affair  will  compel  him  to  break  off  his  preparations  and 
come  down  here.  Our  force  is  practically  hors  de  combat 
for  the  present,  while  the  enormous  prestige  that  Cabrera 
will  acquire  will  bring  the  peasantry  flocking  to  his  banner 
in  crowds,  and  the  news  will  be  received  with  enthusiasm  by 
the  Carlists  all  over  Spain.  It  will,  therefore,  be  necessary 
to  concentrate  every  man  who  can  be  brought  up  to  strike 
a  heavy  blow  at  him.  As  it  will  probably  be  two  or  three 
months  before  Espartero  can  be  in  a  position  to  do  that,  I 
shall  leave  for  Madrid.  I  lost  a  good  deal  of  blood  from 
this  wound  in  my  arm,  and  for  the  past  three  weeks  have  had 
a  very  rough  time." 

"  I  shall  leave  also,"  the  other  said.  "  This  town  is  one 
great  hospital.  I  am  especially  attached  to  this  army,  and 
must  remain  near  it,  but  I  shall  move  off  some  twenty  or 
thirty  miles." 

"  The  first  thing  I  must  do  is  to  get  a  surgeon  to  examine 
Roper's  leg.  I  don't  think  for  a  moment  that  anything  can 
be  done  for  it,  but  he  can  bandage  it  more  skilfully  and  bet- 
ter than  I  have  been  able  to  do,  and  make  it  more  comfort- 
able for  the  poor  fellow." 

The  next  day  Arthur  mounted.  Roper  would  not  hear  of 
being  left  behind.  "  I  can't  put  my  foot  in  the  stirrup,"  he 
said,  "  but  I  can  ride  with  the  other  leg  only,  and  get  a  loop 
over  from  that  stirrup  to  go  under  the  other  knee,  and  make 
a  sort  of  sling  for  it ;  if  I  get  tired  of  riding  that  way,  I  can 
get  my  leg  over  the  saddle  and  ride  like  a  woman.  I  will 
do  anything  rather  than  be  left  behind." 

So  by  easy  stages  they  rode  to  Madrid,  where  Arthur  was 
joyfully  greeted  by  Count  Leon  and  his  sisters.  Roper's  leg 
was  again  examined  by  a  surgeon,  who  said  that  it  was  going 
on  very  well,  but  that  the  ankle  would  always  be  stiff. 

"That  won't  matter,"  Roper  said;  "it  will  only  be  like 


A    DESPERATE     ATTEMPT  217 

having  a  wooden  leg  with  all  the  appearance  of  a  natural 
one.  It  won't  interfere  with  my  riding  at  all,  and  I  don't 
suppose  I  shall  feel  it  much  when  I  get  accustomed  to  it." 

When  Arthur  came  to  recount  his  adventures  his  friends 
were  horrified  at  the  risks  he  had  run,  and  Donna  Mercedes 
turned  pale  when  she  heard  that  he  had  been  in  the  power 
of  Cabrera. 

"  What  an  escape !  What  an  escape !  "  Leon  said.  "  To 
think  that  his  bullet  should  have  set  you  free!  It  seems 
almost  miraculous." 

"It  was  noble  of  you  to  go  back  to  fetch  your  soldier," 
Donna  Inez  said,  clapping  her  hands.  6<  Oh,  it  was  splen- 
did!" 

"He  is  always  doing  splendid  things,"  Mercedes  said, 
"You  must  promise  me,  Senor  Arthur,  that  you  will  never 
run  the  risk  of  falling  into  Cabrera's  hands  again.  Twice 
you  have  escaped  him,  but  the  third  time  will  assuredly  be 
fatal." 

"  It  would  certainly  be  fatal  to  one  of  us.  If  I  had  had 
a  weapon  when  I  went  back,  we  should  have  finished  our 
quarrel  then  and  there.  However,  I  will  willingly  promise 
you  not  to  run  the  risk  of  falling  into  his  hands  again  if  I 
can  help  it." 

"  We  shall  be  very  unhappy  if  you  go  that  way  again," 
Donna  Inez  said;  "  sha'n't  we,  Mercedes?" 

Mercedes  only  nodded  her  head,  she  was  evidently  too 
moved  to  speak. 

"  Well,  go  on  with  your  story,"  Leon  said.  "  You  left  us 
with  your  man  riding  on  your  back." 

They  laughed  heartily  when  he  told  them  how  he  had 
obtained  meat  by  acting  on  the  superstition  of  the  natives. 

"  It  was  running  a  great  risk,  and  you  had  no  right  to  do 
it,"  Mercedes  said. 

"If  you  had  been  keeping  life  together  on  raw  corn  for 
three  weeks,  I  think  that  you  would  think  yourself  perfectly 
justified  in  running  a  good  deal  of  risk  in  obtaining  a  sup- 


218  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

ply  of  meat.  But  really  we  did  not  consider  that  there  was 
any  risk  at  all,  knowing  how  superstitious  the  peasants  are; 
and  I  think,  Donna  Mercedes,  that  you  yourself,  after  hav- 
ing heard  that  story,  with  such  surroundings  would  have 
felt  more  than  a  little  uncomfortable  when  you  heard  the 
gruesome  noises  which  were  made  by  Roper  and  myself — 
especially,  I  may  say,  by  Roper." 

"  I  am  so  sorry  to  hear  of  his  injury,"  Mercedes  said  in  a 
tone  of  great  concern. 

"  I  am  very  sorry  too.  It  is  a  sad  thing,  but  he  makes  light 
of  it  himself.  There  is  little  doubt  that  though  he  will  be 
able  to  walk,  the  joint  will  always  be  stiff;  but  he  will  cer- 
tainly be  able  to  ride." 

"  Leon,  you  must  take  me  round  to  have  a  chat  with  him. 
We  must  see  if  there  is  anything  we  can  do  to  make  him 
comfortable.  Is  he  up,  senor  ? " 

"  Oh  yes,  he's  up,  and  lying  on  the  sofa.  He  thinks  him- 
self that  he  could  hobble  along  with  a  stick  if  he  tried,  but 
of  course  he  will  not  be  allowed  to  make  the  experiment." 

"  And  how  long  are  you  going  to  stay  here,  Arthur  ? " 

"  I  should  think  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks." 

A  week  later,  however,  Roper  was  able  to  walk  with  a 
stick,  and  could  ride  again  without  discomfort,  keeping  both 
legs  in  the  stirrups,  but  putting  his  weight  entirely  on  his 
left  leg. 

The  repulse  at  Morella  had  brought  to  a  climax  the  in- 
dignation of  the  populace  against  the  government,  and  the 
Duke  de  Frias  had  been  called  upon  to  form  a  ministry;  but 
he  was  as  much  influenced  by  jealousy  of  Espartero  as  his 
predecessor,  and  kept  Narvaez  at  the  head  of  a  new  army 
of  reserve  he  formed  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  capital. 
All  sorts  of  rumours  were  current  of  plots  and  conspiracies. 

One  day,  a  fortnight  after  their  return  to  Madrid,  Arthur 
was  riding  through  the  streets,  followed  by  Roper,  when  the 
two  queens  drove  past.  As  usual  when  driving  about  the 
city,  they  had  no  guards  or  outriders,  but  merely  a  coachman 


AH 


HAVE    LAJD    HANpS    ON    YOU   AT 


A    DESPERATE     ATTEMPT  219 

on  the  box  and  two  footmen  standing  behind.  Arthur  sa- 
luted as  they  passed.  The  carriage  was  a  closed  one,  and 
he  could  see  that  only  the  queen  and  the  queen-mother  were 
inside. 

He  and  Rope*r  rode  out  some  miles  into  the  country,  and 
were  turning  to  come  back  when  four  or  five  gentlemen  rode 
along  in  a  party.  Arthur  knew  two  or  three  of  them  by 
sight,  and  bows  were  exchanged  as  they  passed. 

"  A  party  of  pleasure,  I  suppose,"  he  said  to  Roper, 
"  though  the  weather  is  beginning  to  get  cold  for  excursions 
to  country  mansions." 

A  minute  later  a  carriage  came  along.  The  blinds  were 
drawn;  there  were  two  footmen  behind. 

"I  wonder  what  they  have  got  the  blinds  down  for?  It 
is  not  often  one  sees  that,  even  if  there  is  no  one  in  the 
carriage." 

Two  or  three  hundred  yards  farther  back  another  party  of 
gentlemen  came  along. 

"That  is  curious,  Roper.  One  would  think  that  those 
two  parties  of  gentlemen  were  acting  as  escorts  to  the  car- 
riage." 

He  rode  along  for  another  half-mile,  and  then  checked  his 
horse  suddenly.  "  I  have  it !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Did  you  no- 
tice that  the  near  horse  in  that  carriage  has  a  curious  mark 
in  the  centre  of  its  forehead — a  sort  of  crescent  ?  It  seemed 
familiar  to  me,  and  I  have  been  wondering  where  I  saw  it 
before.  Now  I  have  it.  It  was  one  of  the  horses  in  the 
queen's  carriage  that  passed  us  to-day.  It  is  not  the  same 
carriage,  but  it  is  certainly  the  same  horse.  There  is  some- 
thing wrong.  Why  should  the  carriage  be  going  along  with 
the  blinds  down?  Why  should  half-a-dozen  men  be  riding 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  front,  and  as  many  more  behind  ? " 

"I  tell  you  what,  Roper;  the  thing  looks  to  me  very  seri- 
ous. The  three  men  I  knew  in  the  first  lot  were  generally 
believed  to  be  Carlist  sympathizers.  It  is  possible  that  they 
have  carried  the  queens  off.  Their  disappearance  just  at  the 


WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

present  moment,  when  things  have  been  going  so  badly,  would 
cause  a  turmoil  throughout  the  country.  If  they  were  miss- 
ing, Don  Carlos  would  seem  to  be  the  only  possible  successor. 
We  must  follow  the  thing  up,  and  find  out  at  all  risks 
whether  my  suspicions  are  correct.  It  is  a  grievous  pity  we 
are  not  in  uniform,  and  have  no  weapons  with  us.  How- 
ever, we  can  buy  swords  and  pistols  somewhere  as  we  go 
along.  Probably  they  will  change  horses  somewhere  farther 
on.  They  may  have  relays  at  various  points  on  the  road. 
I  don't  mean,  of  course,  that  we  can  fight  all  the  escort ;  but 
if  we  can  find  out  for  certain  that  they  have  captured  the 
queens,  we  can  give  information  at  some  town  where  there 
is  a  garrison,  and  swoop  down  upon  them.  At  any  rate  we 
must  follow  them,  if  necessary  to  the  French  frontier,  though 
it  is  not  likely  that  they  intend  to  go  so  long  a  distance; 
they  will  probably  carry  their  captives  to  some  country 
chateau  in  a  retired  spot,  perhaps  a  hundred  and  fifty  or 
two  hundred  miles  away.  Of  course  I  may  be  wrong  alto- 
gether, but  if  we  find  that  they  have  relays  it  will  be  a  mat- 
ter of  certainty  that  they  are  carrying  off  someone  of  im- 
portance. That  mark  on  the  horse  would  certainly  seem  to 
point  to  the  fact  that  they  have  taken  the  queen  herself. 
However,  we  may  make  up  our  minds  that  we  have  a  long 
ride  before  us,  Roper." 

"All  right,  sir.  I  am  willing  to  ride  through  Spain, 
though  I  wish  my  leg  was  all  right  again.  I  think  I  could 
go  on  all  night  on  horseback,  but  should  not  be  of  much 
use  dismounted." 

"  I  don't  think  it  is  likely  to  come  to  fighting.  We  know 
that  there  are  some  twelve  of  them,  and  probably  the  man 
on  the  box  and  the  two  men  behind  also  belong  to  the  party. 
There  will  be  servants  and  retainers  at  the  house  where  they 
stop,  and  we  could  not  think  of  attacking  such  a  force  as 
that  by  ourselves.  What  we  have  to  do  is  to  find  out  who 
they  are  carrying  off.  If  it  is  the  queen,  we  can  get  help; 
if  it  isn't,  we  may  still  rescue  some  damsel  of  importance." 


A    DESPERATE     ATTEMPT  221 

By  this  time  they  were  galloping  along  the  road. 

"  We  must  time  our  pace  well  by  theirs."  They  were  go- 
ing at  a  sharp  trot.  "  Whatever  we  do,  we  must  not  show  on 
the  road  behind  them.  You  had  better  drop  back  and  ride 
a  good  quarter  of  a  mile  behind  me.  If  they  see  one  solitary 
horseman  far  in  the  rear  they  would  not  think  much  of  it, 
but  if  they  saw  two  of  us  they  might  possibly  suppose  that 
we  were  following  them.  I  must  get  a  sight  of  them  occa- 
sionally, no  matter  how  far  off,  so  as  to  be  sure  that  they 
have  not  turned  off  from  the  main  road." 

Roper  reined  in  his  horse,  and  Arthur  rode  forward  until 
he  came  to  the  crest  of  a  slight  brow,  and  as  his  head  rose 
above  this  he  could  make  out  the  horsemen  a  mile  and  a  half 
in  advance.  The  instant  he  did  so  he  checked  his  horse  and 
dismounted  for  a  few  minutes.  When  he  went  forward  he 
saw  that  the  group  of  horsemen  were  a  mere  black  mass  on 
the  road.  Feeling  certain  that  a  single  figure  could  not  be 
made  out  at  that  distance,  he  rode  on  at  a  gallop.  Now  and 
then  he  caught  sight  of  them,  but  when  he  did  so  he  always 
checked  his  horse  for  a  time.  At  last  on  reaching  the  crest 
of  a  hill  he  stopped  suddenly  and  dismounted,  for  he  saw 
a  group  gathered  in  front  of  a  wayside  inn  not  more  than 
half  a  mile  away.  He  left  his  horse  behind  him,  and  stood 
against  a  wall  so  that  his  figure  should  not  be  seen  against  the 
sky-line. 

As  he  looked  he  saw  the  party  start  again,  so  waiting  until 
they  were  well  away  he  followed.  Five  miles  farther,  when 
at  some  distance  from  a  small  town,  he  observed  that  they 
turned  off,  and  had  no  doubt  that  they  intended  to  make  a 
circuit,  so  as  to  pass  round  it  unobserved.  He  waited  until 
Roper  came  up.  "  They  have  turned  off  here,"  he  said.  "  I 
shall  ride  straight  through  the  town,  and  post  myself  near 
the  next  road  that  comes  in  on  this  side.  You  follow  them 
and  watch  the  road  closely.  You  can't  help  seeing  the  tracks 
of  so  large  a  party.  Ride  pretty  fast  till  you  sight  them.  If, 
as  I  expect,  they  take  a  turn  again  and  come  down  upon  the 


222  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

main  road,  you  will  know  that  I  have  followed  them.  If 
they  turn  off  in  any  other  direction  you  must  trace  them  to 
their  halting-place,  and  then  ride  to  the  junction  of  the  two 
roads  where  I  shall  be  waiting  you.  I  shall  remain  there 
until  you  come,  however  long  that  may  be,  unless  I  follow 
them  along  the  main  road." 

"  I  understand,  sir.  It  is  a  comfort  to  know  that  as  long 
as  it  is  daylight  we  cannot  miss  them.  It  is  when  it  gets 
dark  that  we  shall  have  a  difficulty." 

"When  it  does  get  dark,  Roper,  we  must  muffle  the  feet 
of  our  horses  and  then  close  up  until  we  can  hear  them;  in 
that  way  we  shall  keep  them  in  touch." 

Arthur  rode  quietly  through  the  town  and  halted  a  mile 
beyond  it,  where  a  road  came  in  on  the  side  on  which  he  had 
seen  the  carriage  turn  off.  He  placed  his  horse  behind  a  wall 
a  few  yards  from  the  junction,  and  himself  went  forward 
until,  stooping  down  behind  some  bushes,  he  could  obtain 
sight  of  them  as  they  passed.  Ten  minutes  later  he  heard 
the  clatter  of  horses.  The  advance-guard  passed,  and  then 
he  heard  the  wheels  of  the  carriage.  As  it  came  along  he 
could  see  that  the  blinds  were  still  down.  As  he  had  ex- 
pected, the  horses  had  been  changed.  Five  minutes  after  the 
last  party  of  horsemen  had  passed,  Roper  came  up. 

"  Stop  there,  Roper,"  Arthur  said,  standing  up ;  "  we  must 
wait  till  they  have  gone  a  bit  farther  before  we  go  out  into 
the  road.  Well,  I  am  more  than  ever  convinced  that  there 
is  someone  of  the  very  greatest  importance  in  that  carriage. 
The  mere  fact  that  they  have  taken  the  trouble  to  make  this 
detour  is  sufficient  in  itself  to  show  that.  I  am  afraid  we 
are  in  for  a  long  ride." 

"It  can't  be  helped,  sir;  it  is  a  real  bit  of  excitement, 
though  not  quite  so  exciting  as  it  was  when  you  carried  me 
on  your  back." 

"  No ;  but  the  excitement  will  come  when  we  have  to 
undertake  the  job  of  finding  out  for  certain  who  it  is  they 
have  carried  off.  The  fact,  though,  that  five  or  six  at  any 


A    DESPEKATE     ATTEMPT 

rate  of  the  riders  are  men  of  importance  in  itself  points  most 
strongly  to  the  idea  that  they  have  carried  off  the  queens. 
I  have  no  doubt  many  of  them  have  changed  horses.  If  it 
is  intended  to  take  them  a  long  distance  they  will  all  have 
sent  off  a  relay  of  horses,  probably  placed  in  twos  and  threes, 
to  small  roadside  inns.  We  shall  have  to  change  horses  too 
somewhere.  Our  animals  have  both  had  easy  times,  and  can 
be  reckoned  upon  for  fifty  miles ;  but  as  we  have  no  time  to 
give  them  a  rest,  we  cannot  ride  them  farther  than  that. 
We  have  gone  a  good  twenty-five  miles  already.  At  the 
next  wayside  inn  we  come  to  we  will  halt  for  five  minutes, 
take  the  bits  out  of  their  mouths,  and  give  them  some  bread 
dipped  in  wine,  and  do  the  same  at  the  end  of  another  ten 
miles. 

"  By  the  road  they  are  going  they  are  making  for  the  Ebro, 
and  will  strike  it  at  Alcola.  I  think  that  Medinaceli  lies 
about  fifty  or  sixty  miles  from  there,  but  I  know  of  no  large 
town  between  this  and  Alcola.  The  latter  place  is  only  about 
twenty  miles  from  Saragossa,  so  we  can  get  troops  from 
there,  and  from  Tudela  if  they  turn  north;  so  I  hope  they 
will  hold  on  as  far  as  that.  I  fancy  it  is  a  little  over  a  hun- 
dred miles  from  here." 

It  was  dark  when  they  rode  into  a  small  town,  which  they 
had  seen  the  party  ahead  enter  without  attempting  to  make 
a  detour;  and  waiting  for  a  few  minutes,  they  rode  in  to  the 
principal  hotel. 

"  Landlord,"  Arthur  said,  "  a  number  of  our  friends  have 
just  ridden  through  the  town,  have  they  not  ? " 

"Yes,  sir;  about  ten  minutes  ago,  but  they  made  no  stay 
here." 

"We  have  been  trying  to  overtake  them,  and  our  horses 
are  done  up.  Can  you  procure  us  a  couple  of  fresh  ones? 
We  are  willing  to  pay  well  for  their  hire,  but  they  must  be 
good." 

"Yes,  sir;  I  happen  to  have  a  couple  of  good  ones  in  the 
stable." 


224  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

"  Well,  tell  your  men  to  slip  the  saddles  and  bridles  on  to 
them  at  once.  See  that  our  horses  are  well  attended  to.  If 
you  have  something  hot  ready,  please  set  it  on  the  table  at 
once;  we  have  not  a  moment  to  waste." 

In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  they  were  on  their  way  again,  and 
rode  hard  for  the  next  ten  miles.  They  had  bought  a 
blanket  at  the  town,  and  now  cut  it  into  strips  and  muffled 
their  horses'  feet.  Then  they  rode  on  again,  and  in  another 
half -hour  could  plainly  hear  the  sound  of  horses'  feet  ahead. 
All  night  the  chase  continued.  They  were  more  comfortable 
now,  as  they  had  no  fear  whatever  of  missing  those  of  whom 
they  were  in  pursuit,  and  could  keep  on  at  a  regular  pace. 
The  carriage  changed  horses  about  every  fifteen  miles,  and 
just  as  morning  was  breaking,  and  they  were  beginning  to 
fall  behind  again,  they  arrived  at  Alcola.  As  they  expected, 
the  party  went  straight  down  to  the  ferry.  Arthur  again 
obtained  a  change  of  horses,  and  he  and  Eoper  took  another 
hasty  meal  of  boiled  eggs  and  bread.  They  then  rode  down 
to  the  ferry,  which  was  coming  back  after  having  taken  the 
last  batch  of  horsemen  across. 

"You  are  rather  late,  gentlemen;  that  is,  if  you  belong 
to  the  party  that  have  just  crossed." 

"Yes;  we  have  stopped  to  change  horses.  However,  we 
shall  soon  overtake  them.  Did  you  hear  them  say  how  far 
they  were  going  ?  " 

"I  heard  one  of  them  say  'It  is  only  twenty  miles  far- 
ther,' but  that  was  all." 

"  Ah,  that  is  about  the  distance  I  thought  it  was,"  Arthur 
said  carelessly.  "  I  suppose  the  roads  are  not  very  good  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  which  way  they  went,  sir ;  the  road  by  the 
river  is  good  enough,  the  others  are  not  much  to  speak  of." 

When  they  landed  they  went  up  to  the  village.  There 
were  some  people  about  in  the  streets,  and  from  them  they 
learned  that  the  party  had  taken  the  road  to  the  north-east. 
They  did  not  hurry  now,  the  marks  of  the  numerous  horses' 
feet  were  quite  sufficient  guide.  Arthur  judged  that  there 


A    DESPEKATE     ATTEMPT  225 

would  be  no  possibility  of  approaching  the  place  where  they 
stopped  before  nightfall.  They  therefore  did  not  attempt 
to  lessen  the  start  the  party  had  obtained.  After  riding  for 
about  twenty-five  miles  they  found  that  the  tracks  turned 
off  the  main  road  at  a  village,  and  they  could  see  a  large 
mansion  standing  some  two  miles  away. 

"  That  is  where  they  are  bound  for,  I  have  no  doubt  what- 
ever," Arthur  said.  "  We  will  stop  at  this  little  inn  here." 

He  went  in  and  ordered  a  meal  to  be  prepared.  "  I  shall 
stop  here  for  to-day,"  he  said  to  the  host.  "I  suppose  we 
can  have  a  couple  of  rooms  ? " 

"Yes,  senor,"  the  man  said  with  an  air  of  much  rever- 
ence, for  guests  of  his  quality  were  unusual. 

In  half  an  hour  the  host  himself  brought  in  the  meal. 

"  You  have  surely  had  a  good  many  horsemen  along  here 
recently?  I  have  noticed  a  great  many  foot-marks  on  the 
road,"  Arthur  said  carelessly ;  "  has  a  troop  of  cavalry  passed 
along?" 

"  No,  senor ;  it  was  a  party  of  gentlemen  riding  with  the 
Count  de  Monteroy." 

"  Quite  a  large  party  of  guests.  It  is  not  often  that  they 
have  the  house  full  at  this  time  of  the  year  ? " 

"No;  it  is  getting  late  for  that." 

"Well,  you  can  get  our  rooms  ready.  We  have  had  a 
very  long  ride,  and  will  sleep  for  a  bit."  At  the  place  where 
they  dined  they  had  bought  swords,  and  two  brace  of  pistols 
with  ammunition.  Both  were  dead  tired,  for  they  had  rid- 
den something  like  a  hundred  and  forty  miles. 

"I  expect  some  of  those  men  ahead  must  be  even  more 
tired  than  we  are;  indeed,  I  have  noticed  that  the  tracks  are 
fewer  this  morning  than  they  were  yesterday  evening." 

"  I  noticed  that  too,  sir.  I  expect  they  tailed  off  by  the 
way  and  took  to  their  beds.  However,  I  don't  suppose  that 
will  make  any  difference  to  us ;  there  are  sure  to  be  a  number 
of  retainers  in  such  a  big  house — too  many  for  us  to  cope 
with." 


226  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

"  Well,  I  can  hardly  keep  my  eyes  open.  I  will  order 
dinner  for  six  o'clock.  It  is  just  ten  now,  so  that  will  give 
us  eight  hours.  There  is  one  thing  in  our  favour:  the  oth- 
ers will  be  as  tired  as  we  are,  and  the  chances  are  that  they 
will  most  of  them  take  to  their  beds  and  remain  there  till 
the  morning." 

Both  slept  until  the  landlord  knocked  at  the  door  and  said 
that  dinner  was  served,  and  then  after  bathing  their  heads  to 
wake  themselves  thoroughly,  they  went  downstairs  and  ate 
a  hearty  meal.  It  was  arranged  that  they  should  take  the 
horses  as  near  as  they  dared  to  the  house,  so  that  in  case  of 
discovery  they  could  at  once  ride  away,  and  so  get  a  suf- 
ficient start  to  defy  pursuit.  Leaving  his  horse  with  Roper 
at  a  distance  of  three  or  four  hundred  yards  from  the  house, 
Arthur  went  up  to  it  and  walked  slowly  round  it. 

The  shutters  in  the  front  of  the  house  were  not  closed, 
but  the  curtains  were  drawn.  By  looking  between  them, 
however,  he  could  see  that  the  party  were  at  dinner.  There 
were  lights  in  two  or  three  windows  upstairs.  It  was  prob- 
able that  in  one  of  these  rooms  the  prisoners  were  placed. 
Going  round  the  house  again,  still  more  carefully,  he  saw 
that  the  shutters  of  one  of  the  lower  windows  were  closed, 
and  it  struck  him  as  possible  that  the  captives  were  here 
and  being  served  with  a  meal  at  the  same  time  as  their 
captors. 

"At  any  rate,"  he  said  to  himself,  "I  can  try  here.  If 
the  curtains  are  drawn  and  the  shutters  closed,  they  are  not 
likely  to  hear  me  open  the  window." 

He  had  no  ladder  by  which  to  reach  the  upper  windows,  so 
he  determined  to  take  advantage  of  the  men  being  all  at 
dinner  and  attempt  a  bold  stroke.  It  was  certain  that  many 
of  the  guests  would  be  strangers  to  the  servants  in  the  house, 
and  that  any  who  met  him  in  the  passages  would  take  him 
for  one  of  them.  He  went  to  the  front  door  and  tried  it. 
It  was  open,  and  he  peered  in.  The  hall  was  deserted.  He 
watched  for  a  minute  or  two,  and  as  he  saw  no  servants 


A    DESPEKATE    ATTEMPT  227 

pass  or  repass,  he  guessed  that  the  kitchen  was  on  the  same 
side  of  the  house  as  the  dining-room,  whereas  the  closed  win- 
dow was  on  the  other  side.  He  dropped  his  hat  and  cloak, 
slipped  into  the  hall,  closed  the  door,  walked  across,  and 
turned  in  the  direction  of  the  room  he  wanted.  He  saw 
that  two  men  were  standing  at  the  door,  evidently  on  guard. 
He  walked  boldly  up  to  them.  As  he  had  hoped,  he  was 
evidently  taken  to  be  one  of  the  count's  guests,  and  they 
drew  aside  and  allowed  him  to  turn  the  handle  and  enter 
the  room.  In  the  centre  stood  a  table.  A  child  was  asleep 
on  a  sofa,  and  a  lady  sat  beside  her.  The  latter  rose  to  her 
feet  immediately. 

"  I  thought,"  she  said  sternly,  "  that  it  was  promised  that 
no  intrusion  should  take  place  on  my  privacy." 

"Your  majesty,"  Arthur  said,  stepping  forward  to  her, 
"  does  not  recognize  me.  I  am  Captain  Hallett,  whom  your 
majesty  graciously  made  a  first  class  member  of  the  Order 
of  Fernando.  I  have  followed  your  majesty  from  Madrid, 
keeping  your  carriage  in  sight  the  whole  way.  I  had  only 
a  suspicion  that  it  was  you  that  had  been  carried  off,  and 
before  I  could  verify  it  by  seeing  you,  I  had  nothing  to  go 
upon.  Now  that  I  have  ascertained  it,  I  will  at  once  leave 
you,  for  we  may  be  interrupted  at  any  moment.  I  will  go 
to  seek  a  rescuing  force.  Tudela  is  the  nearest  point  at 
which  there  are  troops.  I  have  written  an  order  in  antici- 
pation to  the  senior  officer  there,  commanding  him  to  place 
himself  under,  my  orders.  Here  is  pen  and  ink.  I  pray  your 
majesty  to  sign  it  at  once." 

He  placed  the  paper  on  the  table,  and  the  queen  at  once 
signed  it. 

"  I  will  thank  you  afterwards,  senor,"  she  said,  "  for  my- 
self and  my  daughter.  I  will  not  detain  you  for  a  moment 
now.  Your  life  would  be  forfeited  instantly  were  you  found 
here." 

Arthur  bent  on  one  knee,  kissed  her  hand,  and  then  with- 
out a  word  left  her  and  went  out  of  the  room,  saying  as  he 


228  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

opened  the  door :  "  Your  wishes  shall  be  respected,  madam." 
Then  he  walked  quietly  down  the  passage,  across  the  hall, 
and  out  at  the  front  door.  In  his  delight  he  ran  full  speed 
to  the  spot  where  Roper  was  holding  horses. 

"It  is  as  we  thought:  the  queen  and  the  regent  are  pris- 
oners there,  and  I  have  seen  them.  Now,  we  must  ride  to 
Tudela — it  cannot  be  much  more  than  thirty  miles — and  we 
must  get  the  troops  here  by  daylight  if  we  can." 

As  they  galloped  away  he  told  Roper  how  he  had  managed 
to  see  the  queen. 

"It  was  a  bold  stroke,  sir,  but  succeeded  splendidly.  I 
only  hope  they  won't  ask  the  men  on  guard  if  anyone  has 
been  there." 

"I  thought  of  that,  Roper,  but  the  chance  of  it  is  very 
small.  They  could  not  imagine  that  there  was  anyone  who 
wanted  to  see  the  queens,  and  it  is  improbable  that  the  con- 
spirators have  mentioned  to  anyone  in  the  house  who  their 
prisoners  are.  It  is  likely  that  the  guards  were  only  told, 
when  they  were  placed  there,  that  the  ladies  were  fatigued 
with  their  journey  and  must  not  be  disturbed.  The  secret 
is  too  important  to  trust  anyone  with  it.  At  the  first  vil- 
lage we  come  to  we  must  engage  a  man  with  a  horse  to  act  as 
our  guide ;  we  shall  never  find  our  way  across  country  with- 
out one." 

In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  they  came  to  a  village  and  stopped 
at  the  inn. 

"Landlord,"  Arthur  said,  "we  want  a  man  on  horseback 
to  guide  us  to  Tudela;  it  is  important  that  we  should  get 
there  this  evening.  Of  course,  we  shall  be  ready  to  pay  well 
for  such  service." 

"What  do  you  call  well,  senor?"  the  landlord  said. 

"  I  will  give  three  pounds." 

"  Then  I  will  go  myself  with  yon.  My  horse  is  not  very 
fast,  but  he  is  strong,  and  can  do  the  journey  easily." 

"Very  well,  then;  saddle  him  at  once.  Don't  waste  a 
minute  about  it." 


A     DESPERATE     ATTEMPT  229 

In  five  minutes  the  landlord  rode  out  of  the  yard.  He 
carried  a  couple  of  lanterns. 

"  You  take  one  of  them,  Roper.  I  will  ride  between  you 
and  this  good  fellow." 

The  road  was  bad,  and  it  was  well  that  the  landlord  had 
brought  lanterns,  for  it  was  a  cross-road,  and  often  noth- 
ing but  a  mere  track.  It  was  one  o'clock  in  the  morning 
before  they  rode  into  Tudela.  The  little  town  was  asleep, 
but  they  roused  the  people  at  the  principal  inn. 

"  Does  the  colonel  commanding  the  troops  stop  here  ? " 

"  No,  sir ;  he  stays  at  the  large  house  fourth  down  the  road 
on  the  right-hand  side." 

"  Well,  landlord,  I  want  you  to  get  supper  for  us,  and  I 
shall  require  two  fresh  horses  in  the  course  of  an  hour,  and 
also  one  for  this  man  who  has  come  with  me.  I  shall  have 
to  arrange  with  you  to  send  these  horses  to  the  place  where 
I  borrowed  them.  I  will  pay  you  well  for  your  trouble." 

"I  will  manage  it,  senor,"  the  man  said,  much  impressed 
with  the  decided  manner  of  his  guest.  "I  have  no  horses 
myself,  but  will  get  them  for  you." 

Arthur  went  to  the  house  indicated,  and  rang  loudly  at 
the  bell.  He  had  to  ring  two  or  three  times  before  there 
was  any  answer;  then  a  head  was  thrust  from  an  upper 
window. 

"  Who  is  making  that  noise  ? " 

"  I  am  a  royal  messenger,"  Arthur  said,  "  and  must  see  the 
colonel  instantly." 

Presently  the  door  was  opened  by  a  man  with  a  light.  He 
showed  Arthur  into  a  room  upstairs. 

"  The  colonel  will  be  in  in  a  minute  or  two,"  he  said,  light- 
ing two  candles  on  the  table. 

In  three  minutes  the  colonel  came  down,  buttoning  up  his 
tunic. 

"What  is  it,  senor?" 

"  I  am  the  cavalero  Captain  Hallett,  and  I  am  the  bearer 
of  a  message  to  you  from  the  queen." 


230  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

"From  her  majesty?"  the  colonel  exclaimed  in  surprise. 

"  Yes.  Now,  colonel,  before  I  hand  you  the  letter  I  wish 
to  impress  upon  you  the  necessity  for  absolute  secrecy  in  this 
affair.  It  must  be  mentioned  to  no  one,  unless  you  have 
Donna  Christina's  permission  to  do  so.  I  need  scarcely  say 
that  the  matter  is  likely  to  be  of  considerable  benefit  to  you. 
Here  is  her  majesty's  order." 

"  This  is  a  strange  message,"  the  colonel  said,  after  read- 
ing it  through  two  or  three  times.  "  It  has  no  official  seal, 
and  is  altogether  unlike  a  document  one  would  expect  to  re- 
ceive from  her  majesty." 

"  That  is  so,  colonel.  Her  majesty  was  not  in  a  position 
to  affix  her  seal,  but  the  signature  is  hers,  which  is  all  that 
is  important.  Now,  sir,  I  will  tell  you  what  has  happened. 
Her  Majesty  Queen  Christina  and  her  daughter  have  been 
carried  off  from  Madrid  by  a  party  of  armed  conspirators. 
She  is  at  the  present  moment  at  the  chateau  of  the  Count  de 
Monteroy,  and  is  held  a  prisoner  in  his  house.  I  have  had 
an  interview  with  her  there,  and  have  received  this  order 
from  her.  What  force  of  cavalry  have  you  here  ? " 

"  I  have  only  fifty  men,  senor." 

"  That  will  be  sufficient.  You  will  at  once  call  them  under 
arms  and  start  back  with  me.  We  must  surround  the  chateau 
before  daylight  if  possible,  and  if  we  ride  fast  we  may  suc- 
ceed in  doing  so.  You  will  there  arrest  the  count  and  all 
his  guests,  who  are  ten  in  number,  but  who  may  by  to-morrow 
morning  be  still  stronger.  You  will  then  form  an  escort  for 
the  queens,  and  conduct  them  back  to  Madrid.  I  don't  know 
what  is  happening  there,  but  at  any  rate  we  will  contrive  to 
ride  in  after  nightfall,  so  as  to  get  them  back  to  their  palace 
unseen.  After  that  the  matter  will  be  in  her  hands  and  that 
of  her  government." 


A    RESCUE  231 

CHAPTER  XIV 

A     RESCUE 

r  I^HE  colonel,  who  had  given  an  exclamation  of  astonish- 
-*-  ment  on  hearing  of  the  outrage  upon  the  queens,  was 
evidently  a  man  of  action.  He  ran  to  the  door  and  shouted 
"  Thomasso !  Stephano ! "  in  tones  of  thunder.  Two  men 
came  running  down-stairs  in  their  night  attire.  "  Run  to 
Captain  Zeno,  and  order  him  to  have  his  troop  at  my  door 
in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  from  the  present  time.  Tell  him 
that  it  is  a  matter  of  life  and  death.  Don't  stop  to  dress; 
throw  on  your  cloaks  and  run  to  him  at  once."  Then  he 
turned  to  Arthur.  "  They  may  not  be  here  in  a  quarter  of 
an  hour,  but  they  won't  be  many  minutes  longer.  The  cap- 
tain sleeps  at  the  barracks,  and  he  will  turn  his  men  out  at 
once." 

Another  man  was  wakened  and  ordered  to  saddle  the 
colonel's  horse  at  once.  "  How  did  this  monstrous  thing 
happen,  cavalero,  if  I  may  ask  ? " 

"  I  do  not  know  how  the  queen  was  carried  off ;  but  I  was 
riding  on  the  road  seven  miles  outside  Madrid  when  I  saw 
a  carriage  coming  along  with  closed  blinds.  Accompanied 
as  it  was  by  twelve  gentlemen  I  should  have  thought  that 
it  was  a  pleasure-party  going  to  some  country  chateau,  but 
that  the  carriage  had  closed  blinds  struck  me  as  strange. 
Still,  I  should  have  thought  no  more  of  the  matter  had  I  not 
noticed  a  peculiar  white  mark  on  the  head  of  one  of  the 
horses — a  mark  which  I  had  that  very  morning  noticed  on 
the  head  of  one  of  those  in  the  queen's  carriage.  The  mat- 
ter struck  me  as  being  so  strange  that  I  determined  to  fol- 
low. I  kept  near  them  all  the  way.  They  had  relays  of 
horses  at  various  points  on  the  road,  and  changed  them 
quickly.  I  managed  also  to  change  mine  and  that  of  a  ser- 
vant with  me,  and  finally  traced  them  to  Count  de  Monte- 


232  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGIOK 

roy's.  I  was  still  in  doubt  as  to  whether  it  was  her  majesty 
who  was  in  the  coach,  but  I  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  private 
interview.  I  saw  her  but  a  minute.  I  had  prepared  this  docu- 
ment for  her  signature,  which  I  was  lucky  enough  to  obtain. 
Now,  colonel,  you  know  as  much  about  the  matter  as  I  do." 

Arthur  could  see  that  the  officer  was  highly  delighted  at 
the  thought  of  the  opportunity  that  had  fallen  in  his  way. 
He  ran  back  to  his  room  and  made  a  more  elaborate  toilet. 
Arthur  went  off  at  once  to  the  hotel  to  see  if  the  arrange- 
ments there  were  going  on  satisfactorily.  The  three  horses 
were  at  the  door,  so  he  sat  down  with  Roper  and  ate  a  hasty 
supper. 

"Now,  landlord,"  he  said,  "I  want  you  to  send  these  two 
horses  to  this  address;  here  are  a  couple  of  pounds  for  your 
trouble.  The  horse  ridden  by  the  landlord  who  acted  as  my 
guide  here  must  be  kept  till  to-morrow.  He  says  he  will 
come  over  and  fetch  it  himself." 

Hearing  a  clatter  of  hoofs  at  this  moment  he  went  out 
and  found  the  troop  just  arriving  at  the  colonel's  door.  He 
mounted  his  horse  and  rode  there  at  once.  The  colonel  had 
come  out,  and  was  in  the  act  of  mounting. 

"  They  have  only  been  five  minutes  over  the  quarter,"  the 
latter  said.  "You  have  done  very  smartly,  Captain  Zeno. 
You  know  the  way,  cavalero?" 

"No;  but  this  man  with  the  lantern  does.  He  guided  me 
here." 

The  guide  and  Roper,  with  their  lanterns,  rode  off  at  the 
head  of  the  column;  the  colonel  and  Arthur  followed,  the 
former  calling  up  the  captain  to  his  side.  "  I  dare  say  you 
are  wondering  what  you  are  called  up  so  suddenly  for,  Cap- 
tain Zeno ;  but  this  gentleman  is  the  bearer  of  an  order  for 
the  arrest  of  the  Count  de  Monteroy  and  some  persons  in  his 
house.  We  must  ride  fast,  for  it  is  important  that  we  shall 
get  there  in  time  to  take  all  in  the  house  by  surprise.  It 
will  be  light  at  six,  so  I  hope  we  shall  get  there  by  that  time ; 
but  if  not,  it  is  likely  that  we  shall  arrive  before  anyone  is 


A    RESCUE 

stirring.  It  is,  I  understand,  important  that  none  of  the 
people  there  shall  escape." 

"  Carlists,  I  suppose,  senor  ? "  the  captain  asked. 

"  I  don't  know,"  the  colonel  replied ;  "  there  are  no  par- 
ticulars whatever  in  my  orders,  which  is  simply  for  their 
arrest." 

The  innkeeper  was  now  better  mounted  than  before,  and 
the  journey  was  done  in  a  little  over  five  hours.  The  day 
had  broken,  but  as  they  approached  the  house  they  could  see 
no  signs  of  life.  The  colonel  posted  forty  of  the  men  round 
the  house,  with  orders  to  cut  down  anyone  who  tried  to 
escape;  then  with  the  other  ten  men,  their  captain,  and  Ar- 
thur, he  went  up  to  the  hall-door  and  knocked  loudly.  A 
minute  or  two  later  he  knocked  again,  and  it  was  opened  by 
a  servant,  who  had  evidently  but  just  risen.  He  started  at 
the  appearance  of  the  soldiers. 

"You  will  lead  me  at  once  to  your  master's  bedroom," 
Arthur  said.  Seeing  that  the  colonel  and  he  had  both  drawn 
their  swords,  the  servant  without  a  moment's  hesitation  con- 
ducted them  to  Count  de  Monterey's  room.  Arthur,  accom- 
panied by  the  colonel,  went  in.  The  count  opened  his  eyes, 
and  then  sprang  suddenly  out  of  bed.  "  I  arrest  you,  Count 
Juan  de  Monteroy,  on  a  charge  of  high  treason !  Resistance, 
seiior,  is  useless:  I  have  fifty  soldiers  round  the  house  and 
ten  of  them  behind  me  here." 

The  count  swore  a  deep  oath,  and  then  shrugged  his 
shoulders.  "  So  there  is  a  traitor  among  us? "  he  said  scorn- 
fully. 

"  No,  senor ;  your  party  have  all  been  true  to  you,"  Arthur 
said. 

The  colonel  called  in  two  men.  "You  will  remain  here 
with  this  gentleman.  You  will  allow  him  to  dress,  but  see 
that  he  touches  no  paper  or  documents  of  any  kind.  When 
he  has  finished  you  can  bring  him  below,  and  there  keep  strict 
watch  over  him  until  further  orders." 

The  colonel  went  from  door  to  door  with  his  men,  and 


234  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

arrested  the  whole  party  without  resistance.  There  were 
twelve  of  them;  those  who  had  been  left  behind  on  the  way 
having  arrived  late  the  previous  evening.  After  seeing  to 
the  arrest  of  the  count,  Arthur,  followed  by  two  soldiers, 
ordered  one  of  the  trembling  domestics,  who  had  now  come 
down,  to  take  him  to  the  room  of  the  lady  and  child  who 
had  arrived  the  day  before.  Two  guards  stood  beside  it. 

"  Do  you  know  why  you  are  placed  here  ? "  he  asked 
sternly. 

"  No,  senor ;  except  that  we  came  on  guard  at  eleven  last 
night  and  were  ordered  to  allow  no  one  to  enter  the  room, 
and  to  refuse  to  allow  the  lady  inside  to  come  out  unless 
escorted  by  the  count  himself." 

"  Well,  you  are  relieved  from  that  duty  now.  You  will  go 
down-stairs  and  remain  there;  we  may  want  to  question  you 
again  presently." 

Then  he  knocked  at  the  door.  It  was  immediately  opened, 
and  Queen  Christina  came  out.  "I  was  expecting  you  this 
morning,  senor;  and,  looking  out  of  the  window,  saw  you 
ride  up  with  the  troop." 

Arthur  waved  the  two  soldiers  to  move  away.  "  Madam," 
he  said,  "I  do  not  know  what  your  wishes  may  be;  but  I 
thought  it  as  well  to  keep  the  knowledge  of  your  identity 
from  all  save  the  colonel." 

"Come  in  here.  The  queen  is  dressed.  Before  we  say 
anything  else,  senor,  I  must  thank  you  with  all  my  heart  for 
the  inestimable  service  that  you  have  rendered  me.  I  thank 
you  in  the  name  of  the  queen,  of  myself,  and  of  Spain.  I 
am  obliged  to  you  for  having  kept  our  identity  a  secret.  I 
have  been  thinking  the  matter  over  since  I  saw  you  last  night 
and  learned  that  there  was  a  chance  of  rescue.  I  should 
certainly  prefer  that  we  should  return  to  Madrid  as  we  have 
come,  incognito.  What  has  passed  there  I  know  not,  but  I 
think  it  possible  that  my  government  have  kept  the  fact  of 
our  disappearance  from  the  knowledge  of  the  people,  and  I 
should  wish  to  consult  with  them  when  I  get  back  as  to  the 


A    RESCUE  235 

advisability  of  continuing  to  do  so.  I  shall,  of  course,  take 
better  precautions  in  future;  but  the  news  that  I  had  once 
been  carried  off  might  lead  desperate  men  to  repeat  the  at- 
tempt. However,  we  shall  have  time  to  talk  this  all  over  on 
the  journey.  I  should  certainly  wish  to  start  as  soon  as 
possible." 

"You  can  leave  in  half  an  hour,  madam,  and  can  travel 
as  fast  as  you  came  here.  There  are  relays  of  horses  on  the 
way.  Your  escort  cannot  keep  up  with  you,  as  there  would 
be  no  possibility  of  procuring  remounts  for  so  many  men. 
There  would  be  no  occasion  for  an  escort,  because  you  can 
ride  with  the  blinds  up,  and  by  keeping  your  veil  down  there 
will  be  no  risk  of  your  being  recognized.  What  do  you  wish 
done  with  regard  to  the  prisoners,  madam  ? " 

The  queen  hesitated. 

"  I  have  not  thought.  What  do  you  say,  Captain  Hallett  ? 
You  have  done  so  much  in  this  matter  that  I  will  trust  to 
your  opinion." 

"  I  should  think,  madam,  that  it  might  perhaps  be  as  well 
to  send  them  all  under  charge  of  the  colonel  who  has  come 
with  this  troop  to  Tudela,  or  to  leave  them  here  in  his  charge, 
in  either  case  holding  him  responsible  for  their  safety.  Then 
you  could  consult  with  your  ministers  as  to  what  steps  should 
be  taken.  It  might  seem  preferable  to  them  that  their  trial 
— if  trial  there  should  be — should  take  place  at  a  provincial 
town  rather  than  the  capital.  I  should  think  they  could  be 
better  guarded  at  the  barracks  at  Tudela  than  here.  Shall 
I  order  breakfast  to  be  brought  up  here,  madam,  or  will  you 
take  it  below?" 

"I  would  rather  have  it  here." 

"  It  is  a  quarter  to  seven  now ;  shall  you  be  ready  to  start 
at  eight  ?  May  I  present  the  colonel  to  you,  madam,  before 
you  start?  He  was  most  zealous,  and  started  with  his  troop 
of  cavalry  in  an  extremely  short  time  after  hearing  my  mes- 
sage. He  is  the  only  one  of  those  here  who  knows  of  your 
majesty's  identity." 


236  WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION 

"  Certainly,  present  him  to  me.  I  shall,  of  course,  see  that 
he  receives  promotion." 

"Does  your  majesty  wish  me  to  accompany  you?" 

"  Of  course  I  do,  senor.  I  thought  that  so  much  a  matter 
of  course  that  I  did  not  mention  it.  I  have  very,  very  much 
to  say  to  you,  for  I  know  nothing  at  present  as  to  how  you 
came  to  be  here." 

At  the  appointed  hour  the  queens  came  down-stairs  and 
went  into  the  drawing-room,  where  the  Spanish  colonel  was 
presented  to  them.  Christina  spoke  to  him  very  graciously 
and  thanked  him  for  his  services,  which  she  said  should  be 
shortly  recognized. 

"I  should  wish  you,"  she  said,  "to  keep  the  prisoners  in 
entire  seclusion ;  let  them  have  no  communication  with  any- 
one. Let  the  men  who  supply  their  wants  be  distinctly 
warned  on  no  account  to  exchange  a  word  with  them.  I 
think  the  best  plan  might  be  for  you  to  have  a  house  cleared 
out  for  them,  so  that  they  can  be  placed  in  rooms  apart,  with 
a  sentry  at  each  door,  and  sentries  round  the  house  to  see 
that  they  communicate  with  no  one.  It  might  be  better  for 
you  to  requisition  the  prison,  and  see  that  the  present  in- 
mates are  placed  elsewhere.  I  rely  upon  your  absolute  se- 
crecy, colonel,  as  to  myself  and  my  daughter  having  been 
here.  I  cannot  say  what  course  government  will  take  in  the 
matter;  therefore  I  rely  upon  you  to  keep  them  absolutely 
apart  from  all  communication  until  you  receive  orders  from 
Madrid."  She  held  out  her  hand  to  the  colonel,  who  kissed 
it  and  retired  much  gratified. 

The  carriage  was  at  the  door.  The  count's  coachman,  who 
had  driven  them  down,  was  placed  on  the  box,  and  Roper 
took  his  place  beside  him.  Two  soldiers  dressed  in  plain 
clothes  took  their  places  behind,  and  one  other,  similarly 
dressed,  mounted  one  of  the  count's  horses  and  led  those 
that  had  been  ridden  by  Arthur  and  Roper.  Arthur  him- 
self had  been  commanded  by  the  queen  to  take  his  place  in 
the  carriage  with  her. 


A    BESCUE  237 

"  You  know  this  gentleman,  do  you  not,  Isabella  ? "  the 
regent  said  as  they  drove  off. 

The  child  had  been  gazing  fixedly  at  Arthur. 

"Yes,  mamma,  I  think  I  do.  He  is  the  handsome  gen- 
tleman, isn't  he,  who  was  presented  to  me  some  time  ago 
for  doing  something  very  brave  ? " 

"  Yes,  my  dear ;  you  said  you  liked  him,  you  know." 

"  Yes  I  did,  mother." 

"  You  ought  to  like  him  a  great  deal  more  now,  Isabella, 
for  he  has  done  something  very  great  for  us.  You  are  too 
young  yet  to  understand  it,  but  I  can  tell  you  that  he  has 
done  a  very,  very  great  service,  one  that  you  should  never 
forget  as  long  as  you  live.  Now,  senor,  I  have  been  in  vain 
wondering  how  it  was  that  you  should  have  arrived  in  our 
room  in  the  manner  of  a  good  fairy  last  night." 

"It  was  almost  by  an  accident,  madam,  and  that  I  was 
there  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Count  de  Monteroy  made 
the  mistake  of  putting  the  horses  out  of  your  carriage  into 
his  own  instead  of  taking  others."  He  then  related  fully 
the  manner  in  which  his  suspicion  had  been  aroused,  and 
how  he  had,  with  his  man,  followed  the  carriage.  "  Of 
course,  your  majesty,  if  I  had  been  in  any  way  sure  that  you 
were  in  the  carriage,  I  should  have  closed  up  at  the  first 
town  you  came  to,  and  called  upon  the  authorities  for  aid 
to  rescue  you ;  but  beyond  the  mark  on  the  horse — and  there 
may  be  more  than  one  horse  so  marked  in  Spain — I  had 
nothing  upon  which  I  could  act.  The  carriage  evidently  be- 
longed to  the  party  who  rode  with  it,  but  the  mere  fact  that 
the  blinds  were  drawn  down  was  in  itself  no  proof  that  any 
prisoner  was  in  it.  It  might  have  been  merely  full  of  wine 
and  provisions  for  the  use  of  the  party  going  down  to  stay 
at  a  chateau. 

"It  was,  therefore,  absolutely  necessary  for  me  to  assure 
myself  that  you  were  prisoners.  That  might  have  been  a 
most  difficult  thing  to  find  out,  and  I  had  in  vain,  on  the 
journey,  thought  over  some  plan.  As  it  turned  out,  it  was, 


238  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

as  I  have  told  you,  simply  a  matter  of  good  fortune.  The 
closed  shutters  pointed  out  the  room  where  you  were  likely 
to  be,  and  from  the  fact  that  dinner  was  going  on  I  was 
able  to  get  to  the  door  of  your  room  unchallenged.  Your 
guards  took  me  for  one  of  the  count's  guests,  and  thus  every- 
thing was  easy  and  simple.  Of  course  the  moment  I  left 
your  majesty  I  rode  straight  to  Tudela,  and  started  with 
the  troop  on  the  return  journey  twenty  minutes  after  I 
arrived." 

"  Well,  senor,  I  hardly  know  which  to  admire  most :  your 
recognition  of  the  horse,  your  quickness  of  perception  that 
something  very  unusual  was  being  done,  and  the  manner  in 
which,  in  spite  of  the  immense  fatigue  of  the  journey,  you 
kept  in  sight  of  us  until  you  traced  us  here;  or  the  fearless- 
ness with  which  you  risked  your  life,  as  you  certainly  did, 
to  ascertain  whether  your  suspicions  were  correct.  Now,  I 
will  tell  you  how  we  were  seized.  Of  course  our  coachman 
and  footmen  must  have  been  heavily  bribed.  We  were  driv- 
ing through  the  town  when  suddenly  we  turned  in  at  the 
gateway  of  a  house  in  a  quiet  street.  I  could  not  now  say 
where  the  house  was,  for  I  was  talking  to  Isabella,  and  paid 
no  particular  attention  to  the  route  by  which  we  were  pro- 
ceeding to  the  palace. 

"  The  moment  we  entered,  a  number  of  gentlemen  came 
round,  the  door  was  opened,  and  one  said: 

" ( Madam,  I  must  trouble  you  to  alight.' 

"  I  began  to  demand  what  he  meant  by  such  insolence,  but 
he  cut  me  short  by  saying: 

"'Madam,  I  repeat  that  you  and  the  queen  must  alight. 
We  have  no  time  to  spare.  Unless  you  at  once  descend  and 
enter  this  carriage  standing  here,  we  shall  most  reluctantly 
be  obliged  to  use  force/ 

"  It  seemed  to  me  that  it  would  be  useless  to  resist,  for  it 
was  evident  that  these  men  were  desperately  in  earnest  and 
would  not  hesitate  to  carry  out  their  threats;  so  we  did  as 
we  were  ordered.  A  lady — I  believe  she  was  a  relation  of 


A    RESCUE  239 

the  count's,  from  what  she  said — afterwards  got  into  the 
carriage,  followed  by  a  gentleman.  The  blinds  were  then 
pulled  down,  and  the  man  took  out  a  long  dagger  and  said: 

" '  If  you  move,  madam,  or  attempt  to  pull  up  the  blinds 
or  to  give  the  alarm,  I  shall  not  hesitate  to  stab  you  and 
your  daughter  to  the  heart,  as  our  safety,  and  that  of  a  score 
of  other  people,  would  demand  it.  I  should  deplore  the 
necessity,  but  I  should  not  hesitate  to  act.' 

"  After  we  had  driven  for  half  an  hour  he  got  out.  I  could 
hear  a  horse  brought  up  to  the  door,  and  he  mounted.  I 
had  no  doubt  that  the  carriage  was  accompanied  by  mounted 
men.  The  woman  was  of  powerful  build,  and  after  we  had 
once  started  I  gave  up  all  idea  of  trying  to  give  the  alarm, 
which  would,  I  felt  sure,  be  fatal.  When  the  blinds  were 
first  pulled  down  I  heard  one  of  the  men  speak  furiously  be- 
cause the  horses  were  not  in  our  carriage.  Someone  else 
said  something,  and  he  said: 

" '  What  does  it  matter  if  it  is  half  an  hour  earlier  than 
we  expected  ?  They  ought  to  have  been  ready.  Take  the 
horses  out  of  that  carriage.' 

"  There  was  a  running  about,  and  the  pair  of  horses  were 
put  in.  Then  one  said: 

" '  Be  sure  that,  directly  we  have  gone,  that  carriage  is 
broken  up  and  burnt.  There  must  not  be  a  splinter  of  it 
left — nothing  to  show  that  anyone  has  ever  been  here.  You 
see  to  it,  Ferdinand;  you  have  got  saws  and  everything  else. 
Remember  the  safety  of  all  of  us  may  depend  upon  its  being 
done  thoroughly.' 

"  Three  minutes  later  we  started.  It  almost  seemed  to  me 
that  I  was  in  a  nightmare  from  which  I  did  not  awake  till  I 
got  to  the  end  of  the  journey.  I  chatted  with  Isabella,  but 
I  did  not  exchange  a  single  word  with  the  woman  in  the 
carriage  with  us.  From  time  to  time  when  we  stopped  to 
change  horses  a  tray  of  food  was  handed  in,  and  we  ate  and 
drank,  though  I  had  little  appetite;  but  I  felt  that  I  must 
keep  up  my  strength,  for  I  had  no  idea  how  long  this  strange 


240  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

journey  would  last,  or  what  would  happen  at  the  end  of  it* 
That  we  had  been  captured  by  adherents  of  Don  Carlos  I 
had,  of  course,  no  doubt.  I  did  not  fear  that  we  should  be 
injured;  but  I  did  think  that  we  might  be  kept  for  many 
years,  perhaps  for  life,  in  close  confinement,  in  which  case, 
doubtless,  all  parties  would  at  last  accept  Don  Carlos  as 
king.  There  would,  no  doubt,  be  a  general  search  for  us; 
there  would  be  great  troubles ;  but  when  it  seemed  to  all  that 
we  should  never  be  found,  even  our  best  friends  would  be 
willing  to  accept  Don  Carlos.  What  do  you  think  will  have 
taken  place  at  Madrid  ?  " 

"  I  should  certainly  say,  madam,  that  when  you  are  missed 
every  effort  will  be  made  by  government  to  keep  your  dis- 
appearance a  secret,  while  attempts  will  be  made  in  all  direc- 
tions to  find  out  the  mystery.  It  will  appear  almost  incred- 
ible that  you  and  your  carriage,  horses,  coachman  and  foot- 
men should  suddenly  and  mysteriously  have  disappeared.  No 
doubt  your  captors  did  not  ride  out  in  a  body.  Some  of 
those  you  saw  there  doubtless  remained  to  destroy  the  car- 
riage; possibly  others  may  have  waited  a  mile  or  two  out- 
side the  town.  Two,  perhaps,  would  keep  some  distance 
ahead  of  the  carriage,  and  two  would  follow.  ~No  particular 
attention  would  be  attracted  by  a  carriage,  with  the  blinds 
down  and  apparently  empty,  being  driven  through  the  street 
at  a  leisurely  pace." 

"  After  the  man  got  out  of  the  carriage,"  said  the  queen, 
"we  went  very  much  faster.  For  a  time  I  wondered  which 
way  we  were  going,  and  where  we  were  to  be  taken;  but  as 
hour  after  hour  went  on  I  ceased  to  trouble  over  it,  and  was 
principally  occupied  in  endeavouring  to  appease  Isabella's 
curiosity  concerning  the  strange  method  of  travelling,  and 
by  telling  her  stories  to  keep  her  amused.  As  soon  as  it 
became  dark  she  fell  asleep  with  her  head  in  my  lap.  I 
dozed  occasionally,  waking  up  when  the  horses  were  changed. 
When  morning  came  I  felt  that  we  were  being  ferried  across 
a  river;  then  in  a  couple  of  hours  we  arrived  here.  The  car- 


A    KESCUE  241 

riage  drew  up  and  the  door  was  opened.  Several  gentlemen 
were  standing  there,  and  all  took  off  their  hats  as  we  dis- 
mounted, and  expressed  their  regret  at  having  given  us  so 
long  and  fatiguing  a  journey. 

"  The  Count  de  Monteroy  assured  me  that  every  attention 
should  be  paid  to  our  comfort,  that  we  should  be  treated  with 
every  respect,  and  that  we  should  be  in  no  way  intruded 
upon.  Three  times  during  the  day  servants  brought  in  food, 
and  we  were  requested  to  come  down  to  dinner.  I  was  in 
half  a  mind  to  refuse,  but  I  thought  it  was  better  that  Isa- 
bella should  have  a  change,  and  I  might  learn  something  of 
the  arrangement  of  the  house.  It  is  fortunate,  indeed,  that 
I  did  so,  for  if  I  had  been  kept  a  prisoner  up-stairs,  I  do  not 
think  that  even  your  ingenuity  and  courage  could  have  en- 
abled you  to  obtain  an  interview  with  me." 

The  coachman  had  been  ordered  to  take  exactly  the  same 
road  as  that  by  which  they  had  come,  and  to  stop  to  change 
horses  at  the  same  places. 

"  By  the  way,  senor,  is  the  servant  who  rode  with  you  the 
same  as  accompanied  you  on  the  occasion  when  you  rescued 
Count  Leon  de  Balen's  sister?" 

"  He  is,  your  majesty.  He  is  at  present  riding  on  the  box 
with  the  coachman,  as  he  has  been  lamed  in  a  fight  with  the 
Carlists;  and  although  his  ankle,  which  was  broken,  is  now 
nearly  healed,  the  fatigue  of  the  long  ride  has  been  so  great 
that  I  took  the  liberty  of  placing  him  upon  the  box  to  keep 
his  eye  on  the  coachman,  while  one  of  the  troopers  leads  our 
horses." 

"  The  first  time  we  stop  I  beg  that  you  will  present  the 
brave  fellow  to  me.  He  must  have  suffered  greatly  from  the 
long  ride." 

"  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  has  suffered,  madam,  but  he  has 
said  nothing  about  it.  He  rode  with  that  leg  loose  in  the 
stirrup,  only  using  the  other.  However,  he  acknowledged 
this  morning  that  he  could  not  sit  the  horse  going  back,  and 
said  he  would  remain  with  the  troops  for  two  days,  resting. 


242  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

It  was  then  I  decided  to  put  him  on  the  box  instead  of  one 
of  the  soldiers,  as  I  had  intended." 

"  Where  did  he  get  wounded,  and  how  ?  " 

"If  it  is  your  majesty's  pleasure  I  will  tell  you.  It  is  a 
long  story,  and  if  I  mistake  not  we  shall  be  changing  horses 
in  a  short  time,  so  I  had  better  leave  it  until  we  start  again." 

"Very  well,"  the  regent  said;  "the  longer  the  story  the 
better,  for  we  have  a  long  journey  before  us." 

When  the  carriage  stopped,  Koper  was  called  to  the  door. 

"  This  is  my  man,  your  majesty,  who  has  ridden  from 
Madrid  with  me." 

"I  thank  you  most  heartily,"  the  queen  regent  said. 
"  Isabella,  give  your  hand  to  this  brave  soldier.  It  is  he  who 
has  helped  this  gentleman  to  get  us  away  from  that  house. 
He  rode  all  the  way  behind  us." 

"  You  are  a  very  good  man,"  the  child  said,  as  she  held  out 
her  hand  to  Roper,  who  kissed  it  somewhat  awkwardly.  "  It 
was  a  very  nasty,  long  journey  for  mamma  and  me,  and  it 
must  have  been  much  worse  for  you,  as  you  had  to  ride  all 
the  way." 

"  Yes ;  and  he  helped  his  master  to  get  that  pretty  young 
lady,  Donna  Mercedes  de  Balen,  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
wicked  Carlists,  who  were  going  to  kill  her." 

"I  had  very  little  to  do  with  it,  madam;  I  simply  did 
what  my  master  told  me." 

"  I  know  Donna  Mercedes  well,"  the  child  said.  "  She  has 
been  several  times  with  her  two  sisters  to  play  with  me.  I 
am  glad  you  did  not  let  them  kill  her." 

Roper  bowed  and  retired. 

"  Is  he  a  private  soldier  ? "  the  regent  asked. 

"He  is  a  private  soldier  for  my  sake,  madam.  He  was 
a  sergeant  in  the  regiment  of  the  British  Legion  to  which  I 
belonged,  and  when  I  was  sent  to  Madrid  to  enquire  about 
the  pay  due  to  the  Legion,  he  gave  up  his  rank  in  order  to 
accompany  me  as  my  servant,  which  was  the  more  meritori- 
ous as  we  had  been  private  soldiers  together." 


A    RESCUE  243 

"  But  you  could  never  have  been  a  private  soldier  ? "  the 
regent  said  in  surprise. 

"  I  was,  madam.  I  had  got  into  a  scrape  at  school,  and 
my  guardian  offered  to  allow  me  one  hundred  and  twenty 
pounds  a  year  till  I  came  of  an  age  to  become  possessor  of 
the  estate  of  my  late  father;  and  as  they  were  recruiting  at 
the  time  for  the  Legion,  I  thought  I  should  like  to  see  some- 
thing of  the  world,  and  therefore  I  enlisted." 

"A  Spanish  nobleman  would  never  think  of  doing  that," 
the  regent  said. 

"  I  was  not  a  nobleman,  madam.  My  father  was  what  you 
would  call  a  country  gentleman,  living  on  his  estate,  which 
was,  I  believe,  a  fair  one.  He  died  when  I  was  only  ten 
years  old,  and  left  me  to  the  care  of  an  uncle.  I  only  pro- 
pose remaining  in  Spain  until  I  come  of  age  to  inherit  the 
estate." 

"  At  what  age  do  you  inherit  ?  " 

"  We  generally  inherit  at  twenty-one,  madam.  My  father 
considered,  and  very  rightly,  that  I  was  not  of  a  disposition 
to  settle  down,  and  therefore  stated  in  his  will  that  I  was 
not  to  come  into  the  estate  until  I  was  twenty-five." 

"  Then  I  suppose  it  will  not  be  long  before  you  go  ? " 

"  It  will  be  some  little  time  yet ;  I  am  a  good  deal  younger 
than  I  look." 

The  regent  smiled.  "  That  is  because  you  are  so  big  and 
strong,  I  suppose,  Captain  Hallett.  And  are  you  thinking 
of  taking  a  Spanish  lady  home  as  your  wife  ?  There,  I  ought 
not  to  have  asked  you,"  she  said ;  "  only  I  remember  that 
when  a  certain  young  lady  told  me  a  story  of  what  had  hap- 
pened to  her,  she  coloured  up  very  prettily  when  she  men- 
tioned your  name.  But  there,  I  won't  say  anything  more 
about  it.  ISTow,  as  we  are  off  again,  perhaps  you  will  tell 
us  that  story  of  how  your  follower  was  wounded  ? " 

Arthur  told  the  story.  Both  the  regent  and  her  daughter 
were  greatly  interested,  and  insisted  upon  hearing  much 
fuller  particulars  than  he  wished  to  give  of  the  manner  of 
his  escape  from  Cabrera,  and  of  his  return  to  carry  off  Roper. 


244  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

"  No  wonder  the  man  is  attached  to  you,"  Christina  said 
warmly;  "it  would  be  strange  indeed  if  he  were  not.  It 
was  a  grand  action,  Captain  Hallett,  however  much  you  may 
make  light  of  it.  Now,  sir,  I  own  that  I  feel  sleepy;  I 
scarcely  closed  an  eye  last  night.  Would  you  mind  riding 
for  a  time  ?  " 

"Certainly  not,  madam." 

They  were  just  stopping  to  put  in  fresh  horses,  and  Arthur 
was  by  no  means  sorry  at  the  change.  He  glanced  into  the 
carriage  at  the  next  halting-place,  and  saw  that  the  regent 
and  her  child  were  both  asleep.  Another  fifteen  miles  and 
they  changed  again. 

"  We  have  some  food,  have  we  not,  Captain  Hallett  ? " 
asked  the  regent. 

"  Yes,  your  majesty ;  we  have  a  large  hamper  behind  the 
carriage." 

"  Then  have  it  brought  in  here,  and  please  come  in  your- 
self. How  far  have  we  gone  ? " 

"About  forty-five  miles,  madam." 

"What  time  shall  we  get  to  Madrid?" 

"About  one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  madam." 

"  Well,  we  will  dine  now.  Then  we  will  talk  for  an  hour 
or  two,  and  I  will  try  to  get  to  sleep  again,  for  I  know  that 
I  shall  have  no  sleep  to-night  after  I  get  in,  but  shall  be  up 
all  night  with  my  ministers.  I  hope  all  the  men  are  get- 
ting food?" 

"Yes,  madam;  I  brought  a  basket  of  food  for  them  too, 
otherwise  there  must  have  been  much  delay  when  we  changed 
horses." 

"You  seem  to  think  of  everything,  Captain  Hallett,"  she 
said,  as  he  moved  away  to  get  the  hamper. 

"  I  had  better  open  it  and  pass  the  things  in,  madam." 

"No,  bring  it  inside;  we  can  put  it  on  the  seat  by  you. 
It  will  be  an  amusement  to  open  it.  It  is  many,  many  years 
since  I  enjoyed  an  impromptu  meal  like  this." 

The  carriage  rolled  on  and  the  hamper  was  opened.    It 


A    EESCUE  245 

contained  every  necessary  for  a  meal.  There  were  several 
bottles  of  the  count's  best  wine,  cold  fowls,  pasties,  and  a 
variety  of  sweets,  together  with  glasses,  plates,  and  other 
necessaries.  The  regent  and  the  little  queen  entered  into 
the  spirit  of  the  thing  with  great  zest.  To  the  former  it 
was  a  relief  indeed  to  be  eating  without  ceremony,  and  able 
for  the  moment  to  put  aside  all  the  cares  of  state,  which 
weighed  so  heavily  upon  her ;  to  the  little  queen  it  was  some- 
thing perfectly  delightful,  and  both  laughed  and  chatted 
with  a  freedom  and  abandon  that  set  Arthur  quite  at  his 
ease.  The  meal  lasted  for  a  long  time,  the  regent  declaring 
that  she  had  not  eaten  so  much  nor  enjoyed  a  meal  so  thor- 
oughly for  years. 

The  queen  was  enchanted.  "  Why  can't  we  always  eat  like 
this,  mamma,"  she  said,  "  instead  of  having  to  sit  up,  with 
three  or  four  servants  to  wait  upon  us,  and  everyone  star- 
ing disagreeably?  I  do  so  wish  we  could." 

"Well,  we  can't  have  it  quite  like  this,  Isabella;  but  I 
will  make  up  my  mind  that  once  a  week  we  will  dine  together 
in  my  closet,  and  then  we  will  have  everything  put  upon  the 
table  and  help  ourselves,  and  try  and  think  that  we  are  not 
queens,  or  anything  else  disagreeable." 

"  That  will  be  nice,  mamma !  And  you  won't  say  once  to 
me,  'You  mustn't  take  this,  Isabella/  or  'You  must  sit  up- 
right,' but  just  let  me  do  as  I  like  ? " 

Her  mother  nodded.  "Yes,  that  shall  be  the  agree- 
ment." 

The  child  clapped  her  hands.  "  That  will  be  nice ! "  she 
said.  "  I  am  so  tired  of  my  governess  saying,  '  You  mustn't 
do  that,'  and  'You  ought  to  do  this/  It  will  be  nice, 
mamma !  When  shall  we  begin — this  day  week  ? " 

Her  mother  nodded. 

"  And  will  Captain  Hallett  always  dine  with  us  ? " 

"No,  my  dear;  Captain  Hallett  has  other  things  to  do; 
but  perhaps  sometimes,  when  he  is  in  Madrid,  he  will  come 
as  a  special  treat  for  you." 


246  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

The  child  nodded  contentedly.  "  I  shall  be  very  angry 
with  him  if  he  does  not  come  often,"  she  said. 

The  meal  lasted  until  they  arrived  at  the  next  changing 
place.  Here  Arthur  got  out  again,  and  was  glad  to  regain 
his  own  horse.  It  was  just  one  o'clock  when  they  rode  into 
Madrid.  There  were  lights  in  the  palace,  and  the  gates  were 
still  open.  They  did  not  drive  up  to  the  principal  entrance. 
The  regent  decided  that  she  would  enter  at  a  side  door,  and 
try  to  make  her  way  to  her  apartments  unnoticed,  as  it  was 
possible  that  the  news  of  their  disappearance  had  been  kept 
from  most  of  the  servants  of  the  palace. 

"  Come  up  with  me,  if  you  please,  Captain  Hallett,"  she 
said. 

The  door  was  unbolted,  and  after  giving  orders  that  the 
carriage  should  be  taken  round  to  the  stables,  and  that  the 
soldiers  should  put  up  at  an  inn  for  the  night  and  come 
round  for  orders  in  the  morning,  she  entered,  with  Arthur 
carrying  the  child,  sound  asleep,  in  his  arms.  They  climbed 
some  stairs  to  the  first  floor.  Up  to  this  time  the  queen  had 
been  in  ignorance  as  to  her  whereabouts,  but  she  now  knew 
where  she  was,  and  made  her  way  to  her  own  chamber.  Leav- 
ing Arthur  outside,  she  went  in  for  a  minute  or  two,  laid  the 
child  on  a  bed,  took  off  her  wraps,  and  then  came  out. 

"Now,  we  will  go  to  the  council-chamber,"  she  said;  "I 
expect  we  shall  find  some  of  the  ministers  there  in  consul- 
tation." 

She  led  the  way  along  a  gallery,  and  opening  a  door  went 
in.  Eight  men  were  sitting  there,  and  they  leapt  to  their 
feet  with  a  cry  of  astonishment  as  the  regent  entered,  fol- 
lowed by  a  young  gentleman  who  was  unknown  to  them. 

"  Why — your  majesty !  "  her  minister  said. 

"  Yes ;  I  understand  that  you  are  surprised  to  see  me,"  she 
interrupted.  "Now,  gentlemen,"  she  went  on,  as  she  went 
to  her  seat  at  the  head  of  the  table,  "I  will,  in  the  first 
place,  ask  you  what  has  happened  here  since  I  have  been 
away ;  after  that  I  will  tell  you  where  I  have  been.  Has  my 
absence  been  known?" 


A   RESCtTE  247 

"  To  very  few  people,  your  majesty.  Fortunately,  I  was 
here  awaiting  your  return.  As  the  time  passed  and  you  did 
not  arrive,  I  became  anxious.  When  you  were  two  hours 
late,  I  sent  for  my  colleagues  and  we  had  a  consultation,  but 
we  were  unable  to  form  any  idea  of  what  had  become  of  you. 
Your  carriage  had  not  returned.  It  was  not  possible  that 
any  accident  could  have  occurred,  for  if  so,  we  should  have 
heard  of  it.  At  nine  o'clock  we  became  seriously  alarmed, 
and  all  went  out  to  different  parts  of  the  city  to  make  cau- 
tious enquiries  as  to  where  your  carriage  had  been  last  seen, 
and  whether  a  report  was  current  that  an  accident  had  taken 
place.  We  met  here  again  at  eleven.  None  of  us  had  heard 
of  any  news.  Your  carriage  had  been  seen  in  various  parts 
of  the  town  early  in  the  afternoon,  but  where  it  had  been  last 
noticed  we  could  not  find  out.  We  set  the  whole  police  to 
search  quietly — no  one  was  told  of  your  disappearance.  A 
search  was  made  for  the  carriage.  In  the  meantime  it  was 
given  out  that  the  queen  was  unwell,  and  that  you  were  re- 
maining with  her  and  nursing  her.  Your  majesty's  surgeon 
was  called  in  and  sworn  to  secrecy,  and  he  has  twice  a  day 
come  to  the  palace.  We  have  been,  as  your  majesty  may 
well  imagine,  at  our  wits'  end  to  know  what  to  do.  To  an- 
nounce that  you  had  disappeared  would  cause  a  disturbance 
in  the  city,  and  an  enormous  state  of  unrest  throughout  the 
kingdom.  We  have  met  to-night  to  consider  how  long  the 
secret  could  be  kept,  and  whether  it  would  be  expedient  at 
once  to  offer  a  very  large  reward  for  news  concerning  you." 

"  Happily,  duke,  I  am  in  a  position  to  settle  the  matter  and 
to  relieve  your  disquietude." 

She  then  related  how  she  had  been  kidnapped,  and  how  she 
was  taken  to  the  house  of  the  Count  de  Monterey  and  con- 
fined there.  Many  were  the  exclamations  of  anger  as  she 
went  on. 

"  It  is  monstrous !  Incredible ! "  were  among  the  excla- 
mations when  she  ceased. 

"  Then  how,  madam,  did  you  obtain  your  freedom  from 


24:8  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGIOff 

the  hands  of  these  malefactors?  It  would  certainly  seem 
that  they  had  taken  every  precaution  to  keep  the  place  of 
your  confinement  secret." 

"  Precautions  they  did  take  that  would  have  deceived  most 
people,"  the  regent  said,  "but  which,  happily,  failed  to  de- 
ceive this  gentleman  here.  Now,  Captain  Hallett,  perhaps 
you  will  please  tell  these  gentlemen  how  it  happened  that  you 
traced  and  rescued  me.  I  request  that  you  will  tell  it  in  full 
detail." 

Thus  commanded,  Arthur  gave  a  full  account  of  the  way 
in  which  his  suspicions  had  been  aroused,  of  his  pursuit,  the 
manner  in  which  he  had  discovered  that  his  suspicions  were 
correct,  and  the  steps  he  had  taken  to  obtain  the  release  of 
the  prisoners. 

"Well,  sir,"  the  premier  said,  when  Arthur  had  brought 
the  story  to  a  conclusion,  "  I  have  to  congratulate  you  most 
heartily,  in  my  own  name  and  on  behalf  of  the  other  mem- 
bers of  her  majesty's  government,  upon  the  manner  in  which 
you  have  rescued  the  queen  and  the  queen  regent  from  the 
hands  of  their  captors.  You  have  shown  an  amount  of  acute- 
ness,  of  steadfastness  of  purpose,  and  of  courage,  in  ventur- 
ing into  this  den  of  conspirators,  that  does  you  an  extraor- 
dinary amount  of  credit.  We  can  hardly  imagine  what 
would  have  happened  had  the  place  of  confinement  of  the 
queen  remained  undiscovered.  The  whole  kingdom  would 
have  been  in  uproar ;  civil  strife  would  have  been  more  ram- 
pant than  ever.  We  thank  you  most  heartily,  in  the  name 
of  Spain,  for  what  you  have  done  for  her.  Have  you  the 
list,  senor,  of  the  men  who  have  been  arrested  ? " 

"Yes,  senor,  this  is  it." 

The  premier  ran  his  eye  over  it  and  passed  it  on  to  his 
colleagues. 

"It  is  difficult  to  believe,"  he  said,  "that  some  of  the 
gentlemen  here  mentioned  could  have  been  engaged  in  such 
a  conspiracy;  however,  we  cannot  at  present  decide  upon  so 
important  a  question." 


A    RESCUE  249 

"  I  may  say,  senor,"  Christina  said,  "  that  for  my  own  part 
I  should  vastly  prefer  that  there  should  be  neither  scandal 
nor  trial.  I  prefer  that  they  should  be  ordered  to  leave  the 
kingdom  at  once,  with  the  understanding  that  if  they  return 
they  will  be  arrested  on  the  charge  of  high  treason.  It  would 
be  most  unfortunate  if  this  matter  should  be  made  public. 
The  plot  has  failed;  but  the  mere  fact  that  it  has  been  tried 
might  lead  others  to  repeat  the  attempt.  In  the  next  place, 
most  of  these  men  who  have  been  engaged  in  the  matter  bear 
historic  names,  and  have  wide  connections.  It  would  there- 
fore be  one  of  the  gravest  scandals  ever  known  in  Spanish 
history  were  they  to  be  tried  and  punished  on  such  a  charge. 
This  is  my  opinion  on  the  subject.  I  submit  it  to  your 
judgment,  and  I  think  that  when  you  come  to  take  into 
consideration  the  magnitude  of  the  interests  involved,  you 
will  agree  with  me  that  it  would  be  advisable  to  let  the  mat- 
ter pass  unnoticed. 

"  In  time,  when  these  troubles  are  all  brought  to  an  end, 
it  will  be  possible  to  extend  to  these  conspirators  the  hand 
of  mercy,  and  allow  them  to  return  to  such  portion  of  their 
estates  as  may  be  deemed  fitting.  And  now,  gentlemen,  I 
will  leave  you.  I  have  had  four  days  of  great  fatigue  and 
anxiety.  I  should  say  that  to-morrow  a  notification  should 
be  issued  to  the  effect  that  the  queen  has  recovered  from  her 
passing  indisposition,  and  that  in  the  course  of  the  day  we 
should  show  ourselves  in  the  streets  as  usual."  So  saying 
she  rose;  the  members  of  the  council  also  stood  up,  and 
bowed  deeply  as  she  left  the  room  followed  by  Arthur. 


250  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

CHAPTEK  XV 

A   CHALLENGE 

ON  leaving  the  palace  Arthur  went  to  his  room,  where 
he  found  supper  awaiting  him,  Eoper  having  confis- 
cated to  his  use  the  contents  of  the  royal  hamper. 

"  I  thought  you  would  want  something  before  you  went 
to  bed,  and  I  was  sure  that  I  did.  I  have  already  eaten  mine, 
but  here  is  a  fowl,  sir,  and  two  bottles  of  wine." 

"  Well,  I  am  not  sorry  to  have  them,  though  it  is  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning;  however,  we  can  sleep  as  late  as  we 
like  to-morrow." 

At  twelve  o'clock,  however,  Arthur  was  awakened  by  Leon 
entering  his  room. 

"We  have  been  quite  uneasy  about  you,  Arthur.  Where 
have  you  been?  What  have  you  been  doing  with  yourself? 
I  came  round  here  four  days  ago;  the  concierge  said  you 
were  out.  I  called  again  in  the  evening,  and  next  morning 
I  learned  that,  when  you  left,  you  had  said  nothing  about 
any  intention  of  going  away;  that  you  had  certainly  taken 
no  clothes  with  you,  but  had  gone  out  with  Eoper  in  attend- 
ance, just  as  if  you  were  going  for  an  ordinary  ride." 

"  That  was  just  the  intention  with  which  I  did  go  out,  but 
circumstances  were  too  much  for  me.  Now,  what  I  am  go- 
ing to  tell  you  is  a  complete  secret,  and  before  I  say  anything 
about  it  you  must  give  me  your  promise  that  it  shall  not, 
on  any  account  whatever,  go  beyond  yourself  and  your  sis- 
ters." 

Leon  looked  at  Arthur  in  surprise,  but  seeing  that  he  was 
quite  in  earnest,  gave  the  required  pledge. 

"  Well,  you  will  be  surprised  to  hear  that  in  the  four  days 
I  have  been  away  I  have  ridden  over  three  hundred  miles." 

"  Over  three  hundred  miles  ?  " 

"Yes.     That  is  not  bad  for  what  was  really  three  and  a 


A    CHALLENGE  251 

half  days'  work,  for  I  arrived  here  at  three  o'clock  this  morn- 
ing." 

"You  stupefy  me,"  the  young  count  said.  "Why,  no 
horse  could  have  done  it." 

"  No,  and  no  horse  did  it ;  I  had  relays  about  every  fifteen 
miles." 

"  You  travelled  post  ?  What  did  you  carry  ?  A  despatch 
for  Espartero,  or  a  cartel  to  Cabrera  ? " 

"  Prepare  yourself  for  a  surprise,  Leon.  I  carried  in  my 
hand  the  safety  of  the  queen  and  the  regent." 

"  The  safety  of  the  queen  and  regent !  You  are  not  jok- 
ing, are  you?  How  could  you  have  to  ride  three  hundred 
miles  on  such  an  errand  ? " 

"  Well,  briefly,  Leon,  the  queen  and  the  queen  regent  were 
carried  away  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  and  I  brought  them 
back  again." 

Leon  looked  seriously  at  his  friend. 

"  You  are  not  quite  well,  are  you  ? "  he  said ;  "  you  are  a 
little  upset,  my  dear  fellow,  about  something.  You  are  talk- 
ing nonsense,  you  know;  the  queen  has  not  been  out  of 
Madrid.  She  has  been  unwell  and  her  mother  has  been  nurs- 
ing her." 

"  So  you  were  led  to  believe,  but  the  facts  are  as  I  have 
stated.  The  queen  and  her  mother  were  seized  when  driv- 
ing through  the  streets  of  Madrid  four  days  ago.  They 
were  placed  in  a  carriage  with  closed  blinds,  and  were  car- 
ried to  a  place  some  twenty-five  miles  beyond  the  Ebro  and 
some  thirty  miles  from  Tudela.  I  followed  them  with  Roper. 
I  had  the  luck  to  obtain  an  interview  with  her  majesty,  rode 
to  Tudela,  and  brought  back  a  squadron  of  horse,  surrounded 
the  house  where  they  were  imprisoned,  captured  all  the  con- 
spirators, and  brought  the  queen  and  her  mother  back  to 
Madrid  at  one  o'clock  this  morning." 

"  You  seem  to  be  talking  sensibly,"  Leon  said,  "  but  I  really 
cannot  take  in  what  you  say.  It's  a  hundred  and  thirty 
miles  good  to  the  Ebro,  and  you  say  it  was  twenty-five  miles 


252  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

farther;  then  you  rode  from  there  to  Tudela  and  back,  a 
distance  of  sixty  miles,  so  that  you  have,  in  fact,  covered 
some  four  hundred  miles.  Where  have  you  slept  ? " 

"  I  think  I  slept  a  little  on  horseback  on  the  way  to  Tudela 
and  back,  and  I  have  slept  since  three  o'clock  this  morning, 
as  I  was  some  time  at  the  palace.  I  have  no  doubt  that  in 
addition  I  dozed  occasionally  for  some  minutes  in  succes- 
sion in  the  saddle  during  the  return  journey,  and  I  had  a 
sleep  of  eight  hours  in  the  daytime  the  day  before  yesterday ; 
and  if  you  had  not  come  in  I  dare  say  I  should  have  had  as 
many  more  before  I  woke  to-day." 

Leon  looked  so  serious  that  Arthur  burst  into  a  hearty 
laugh. 

"  That  is  good,"  he  said,  "  and  will  wake  me  up.  Now, 
Leon,  if  you  will  wait  for  five  minutes  I  will  get  up  and  dress. 
Did  you  see  Roper  when  you  came  in  ? " 

"Yes;  he  opened  the  door  to  me  as  usual." 

"  Well,  if  you  will  tell  him  that  I  shall  be  out  in  ten  min- 
utes, and  want  some  coffee  and  something  to  eat,  he  will 
make  it  for  me;  but  mind,  don't  ask  him  any  questions.  I 
am  not  going  to  have  the  story  spoilt  by  anyone  else  telling 
you  about  it;  not  that  I  think  you  would  get  anything  out 
of  him,  for  he  is  absolutely  trustworthy,  and  I  told  him  last 
night  that  no  whisper  must  pass  his  lips  of  what  has  taken 
place." 

In  ten  minutes  Arthur  went  into  the  sitting-room,  and  as 
he  entered  Leon  said :  "  If  you  are  going  to  eat  your  break- 
fast before  you  tell  me  anything,  I  will  go  away.  I  cannot 
repress  my  curiosity,  and  I  will  take  a  ride  or  do  something 
to  keep  my  brain  steady  until  you  are  ready  to  unburden 
yourself." 

"  I  will  begin  at  once,  and  tell  you  while  I  am  eating. 

"Now,"  he  began,  as  he  sat  down  and  poured  out  some 
coffee,  "  the  thing  in  a  nut-shell  is  precisely  what  I  told  you. 
And  now  as  to  particulars: — I  was  riding  with  Roper,  and 
had  gone  about  seven  miles  out.  As  we  returned  I  met  a 


A    CHALLENGE  253 

party  of  gentlemen  on  horseback.  At  some  little  distance 
behind  them  was  a  carriage  with  the  blinds  down.  Again, 
at  a  distance  behind  the  carriage  was  another  party  of  gen- 
tlemen. Altogether  there  were  twelve  men.  It  struck  me 
as  rather  curious;  still,  they  might  have  been  going  down 
to  spend  the  day  at  some  chateau,  and  carrying  provisions 
or  something  of  that  sort  in  the  carriage.  I  should  not 
have  thought  much  more  about  the  matter,  if  it  had  not  been 
for  one  thing:  as  the  carriage  passed  me,  it  struck  me  that 
I  knew  one  of  the  horses  by  a  rather  curious  white  mark  on 
its  forehead. 

"  As  I  rode  on,  it  suddenly  occurred  to  me  where  I  had 
seen  a  horse,  similarly  marked :  it  was  in  the  carriage  in  which 
the  queen  was  driving  when  I  saw  her  in  the  street,  just  as 
we  were  starting.  Naturally  this  led  me  to  review  the  po- 
sition. Who  was  in  the  carriage?  Why  were  the  blinds 
down?  How  was  it  that  six  men  were  riding  in  front  of  it 
and  other  six  behind  it?  It  struck  me  that  possibly  they 
were  carrying  off  the  queen,  and  I  resolved  to  follow  and  see 
where  they  went.  They  rode  much  farther  than  I  expected, 
changing  horses  at  quiet  places  every  twelve  miles  or  so,  and 
going  very  fast,  till,  as  I  told  you,  they  crossed  the  Ebro  be- 
tween Saragossa  and  Tudela,  and  went  some  twenty-five  miles 
farther  to  a  mansion,  which  I  had  no  difficulty  in  learning 
belonged  to  Count  Juan  de  Monterey. 

"  Having  found  that  out,  we  stopped  at  an  inn  in  a  vil- 
lage two  miles  from  it,  and  had  that  sleep  I  mentioned,  as 
it  was  ten  o'clock  in  the  day,  and  I  could  do  nothing  till 
dark.  Then  I  went  to  the  mansion  and  found,  by  looking 
through  the  curtains,  that  the  party  were  at  dinner.  I 
found  also  that  the  windows  of  another  room  on  the  ground 
floor  had  closed  shutters.  The  two  rooms  lay  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  grand  entrance.  The  door  was  open.  I  peeped 
in,  and  could  see  no  one  about;  so  I  took  heart,  walked 
boldly  in,  and  turned  along  the  corridor  to  the  room  with  the 
closed  shutters. 


254:  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

"  Two  men  were  standing  on  guard  at  the  door,  but  of 
course  they  took  me  for  one  of  their  master's  guests,  and  I 
walked  coolly  past  them,  and  found  in  the  room  the  queen  and 
her  mother.  I  got  the  regent  to  sign  an  order  that  I  had  writ- 
ten out,  for  the  officer  commanding  at  Tudela  to  place  him- 
self under  my  orders.  Then  I  rode  over  there  and  fetched 
a  squadron  of  cavalry,  which  arrived  at  daybreak.  We  sur- 
rounded the  house,  took  the  twelve  men  there  prisoners, 
started  an  hour  later  with  the  queens,  and  arrived  here  at 
one  o'clock  this  morning." 

Leon  gazed  at  him  in  open-eyed  astonishment. 

"  You  are  certainly  a  most  surprising  fellow,  a  most  aston- 
ishing fellow!  I  don't  know  what  to  say  to  you.  Here, 
single-handed,  you  have  thwarted  a  plot  that  might  have 
brought  ruin  to  the  country;  you  have  saved  a  couple  of 
queens;  you  have  captured,  too,  the  leaders  of  the  plot;  you 
have  ridden,  what  with  your  journey  to  Tudela  and  back, 
four  hundred  miles  at  least,  in  the  course  of  three  days  and 
a  half;  and  here  you  are,  telling  me  all  this  as  if  it  had  been 
a  natural  and  everyday  occurrence." 

"It  certainly  was  not  an  everyday  occurrence,  Leon,  but 
it  was  an  affair  that  might  have  happened  to  anyone  who 
kept  his  eyes  open  and  possessed  a  certain  amount  of  endur- 
ance." 

"So  this  is  the  real  history  of  the  young  queen's  indispo- 
sition?" 

"  Yes.  I  think  the  ministers  acted  very  wisely  in  keeping 
the  thing  a  secret." 

"It  is  the  first  wise  thing  they  have  done,"  Leon  said. 
"I  don't  see  that  they  are  a  bit  better  than  the  last  min- 
istry. However,  never  mind  that  now.  And  about  your- 
self? you  must  be  fearfully  stiff." 

"  I  am  very  stiff,  but  that  will  wear  off  by  to-morrow." 

"And  did  your  man  perform  this  marvellous  journey  in 
spite  of  his  broken  leg  ? " 

"He  rode  there  with  me,  and  when  I  went  to  fetch  the 


A    CHALLENGE  255 

troops,  but  he  came  back  on  the  box  of  the  queen's  carriage. 
His  leg  hurt  him  a  good  deal  last  night,  but  I  hope  no  real 
harm  is  done,  though  no  doubt  he  will  have  to  keep  quiet  for 
a  few  days." 

"Well,  they  ought  to  make  a  duke  and  grandee  of  Spain 
of  you  for  it." 

"  I  sincerely  hope  they  won't  think  of  anything  of  the 
sort,"  Arthur  laughed.  "  Fancy  my  going  back  to  England 
with  such  a  title  as  the  Due  de  Miraflores !  The  thing  would 
be  absolutely  ludicrous !  " 

"  Well,  they  will  have  to  do  something  big  anyhow,"  Leon 
said.  "Now,  tell  me  the  story  more  fully.  You  have  got 
nothing  to  do,  and  may  as  well  gratify  my  curiosity." 

"  There  is  really  very  little  to  tell,  but  I  will  give  it  to 
you ; "  and  he  then  told  the  story  in  detail. 

"  Well,  it  is  really  remarkable  that  you  should  have  been 
able  to  keep  them  under  your  observation  during  all  that 
long  journey  without  letting  them  know  that  they  were  fol- 
lowed." 

"  You  see,  they  could  have  had  no  idea  that  there  was  any- 
one after  them ;  if  they  had,  they  would  no  doubt  have  left  a 
couple  of  their  number  to  follow  at  a  distance  of  two  or 
three  miles.  They  no  doubt  felt  quite  sure  that  the  absence 
of  the  queen  was  entirely  unsuspected,  that  no  search  could 
be  made  for  her  for  at  least  six  hours,  and  that  assuredly 
no  parties  would  be  sent  off  in  any  case  to  scour  the  country 
till  next  day,  by  which  time  they  would  have  crossed  the 
Ebro.  If,  instead  of  taking  the  horses  from  the  queen's 
carriage,  they  had  waited  five  minutes  till  their  own  were 
yoked,  their  plot  would  have  been  successful.  Their  plan  was 
uncommonly  well  laid,  and  they  could  hardly  have  conceived 
it  possible  that  one  of  the  queen's  horses  would  be  recognized 
in  a  private  carriage;  nor  would  it  have  been  had  I  not 
happened  to  observe  that  peculiar  mark  that  very  morning." 

"  Well,"  Leon  said,  "  I  will  be  off  now  to  tell  my  sisters." 

"I  shall  not  stir  out  to-day,  Leon.    I  really  feel  that  I 


256  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

should  enjoy  a  day's  rest,  and  it  is  possible  that  I  may  be 
sent  for  to  the  palace." 

"  That  is  almost  certain ;  the  ministers  must  have  many 
things  to  question  you  about,  as  the  queen  last  night  can 
only  have  given  them  a  general  account  of  the  affair." 

Indeed,  a  court  messenger  rode  up  an  hour  later  and  re- 
quested Arthur's  attendance  at  the  palace.  He  dressed  him- 
self fully  and  went  there.  On  his  arrival  he  was  conducted 
to  the  council-chamber. 

"The  queens  have  not  yet  risen,  Captain  Hallett.  I 
should  be  glad  if  you  would  give  us  much  fuller  details  than 
the  regent  was  able  to  give  us  last  night;  perhaps,  too,  in 
addition  to  what  you  yourself  know  of  it,  you  may  have 
heard  from  Queen  Christina  the  particulars  of  her  capture." 

Arthur  gave  the  particulars  at  full  length,  both  of  the 
queen's  capture  and  of  his  own  proceedings. 

"  Thank  you,  Captain  Hallett,"  the  premier  said.  "  It  is 
the  most  audacious  attempt  against  the  person  of  a  Queen 
of  Spain  that  I  have  ever  heard  of ;  and  the  manner  in  which 
you  thwarted  it  is  no  less  remarkable.  We  have  already 
despatched  a  courier  with  orders  to  Colonel  Queredo,  order- 
ing him  to  bring  the  prisoners  to  Madrid  under  the  escort 
of  the  troop  of  cavalry,  and  to  accomplish  this  with  all  pos- 
sible speed,  placing  them  in  three  carriages  and  keeping  the 
most  careful  guard  over  them,  confining  them  by  day  in 
some  suitable  apartment  where  they  can  communicate  with 
no  one,  and  travelling  after  dark  only.  They  will  be  tried 
privately.  I  may  tell  you  that  although  their  lives  are  un- 
questionably forfeited,  we  do  not  intend  to  carry  out  the 
extreme  penalty,  as  this  could  not  be  done  without  the  whole 
affair  becoming  known — a  matter  that  we  are  most  anxious 
to  avoid.  In  the  first  place,  the  men  are  all  members  of 
good  families,  and  could  not  be  so  disposed  of  without  the 
whole  matter  being  known,  and  the  attempt  so  nearly  suc- 
ceeded that  it  might  be  again  tried.  Their  estates  will,  of 
course,  be  forfeited,  and  they  will  be  taken  to  the  frontier 


A    CHALLENGE  257 

and  forbidden  ever  to  cross  it  again,  under  penalty  of  incur- 
ring the  death-sentence  that  will  be  passed  upon  them.  And 
now,  sir,  may  we  ask  you  what  shape  you  would  like  our 
gratitude  to  take,  for  this  great  service  you  have  rendered  ?  " 

"  I  have  no  desire  for  a  reward  in  any  shape,  sir,"  Arthur 
replied.  "  I  am  an  English  gentleman  with  an  estate  in  my 
own  country,  and  am  well  pleased  that  I  have  been  able  to 
render  a  service  to  the  Queen  of  Spain  and  her  mother. 
That  is  ample  reward  for  my  efforts,  and  I  can  assure  you 
that  I  shall  be  best  pleased  if  nothing  else  is  done  in  the 
matter.  I  feel  personally  thankful  to  you  that  you  have 
decided  not  to  execute  the  men  concerned  in  the  matter;  it 
would  be  a  pain  for  me  to  know  that  the  lives  of  twelve 
men,  who  were  doubtless  actuated  by  what  they  believed, 
however  mistakenly,  to  be  the  good  of  their  country,  should 
be  forfeited  through  me.  May  I  enquire  if  you  have  ar- 
rested the  coachman  and  footmen  ?  I  do  not  ask  that  mercy 
should  be  extended  to  them.  They  were  of  course  bribed 
heavily,  and  I  do  not  think  any  punishment  too  severe  for 
men  who  could  so  betray  their  mistress." 

"  The  police  are  in  search  of  them,  Captain  Hallett.  We 
can  hardly  expect  to  find  them  for  some  time,  for  they  would 
naturally  leave  within  an  hour  after  the  perpetration  of  their 
crime,  and  as  they  have  four  days'  start  they  will  by  this 
time  be  far  away.  No  efforts,  however,  will  be  spared  in 
tracing  them.  As  to  what  you  have  said,  we  shall  of  course 
inform  the  regent  of  your  declaration,  which  doubtless  does 
you  the  highest  credit,  but  which,  as  you  must  see,  can  hardly 
be  entertained  by  us,  as  it  would  be  impossible  for  the  queen 
to  remain  under  so  deep  an  obligation  to  a  gentleman,  how- 
ever honourable  and  disinterested." 

"  Well,  sir,  I  can  only  say  that  I  spoke  in  earnest.  I  shall 
always  be  pleased  to  look  back  at  having  been  able  to  render 
a  service  to  the  Queen  of  Spain,  who  had  already  honoured 
me  by  creating  me  a  Knight  of  the  Isabella  of  the  first  class 
and  a  Companion  of  the  Order  of  San  Fernando  the  Catho- 
lic." 


258  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

He  was  again  sent  for  to  the  palace  by  the  queen  that 
afternoon. 

"I  have  been  for  a  drive  with  my  daughter/'  she  said, 
"  and  have  been  acclaimed  by  the  populace,  who  were  evi- 
dently pleased  that  Isabella  has  recovered  from  her  indis- 
position; and  things  will  now,  I  hope,  go  on  as  before.  I 
feel  that  at  present  I  have  not  thanked  you  as  you  deserve 
for  what  you  did  for  us.  Believe  me,  that  I  am  not  un- 
grateful. My  little  daughter  is  not  old  enough  to  under- 
stand the  service  you  have  rendered  us,  but  in  her  name  I 
thank  you  most  deeply,  and  shall  ever  retain  a  deep  feel- 
ing of  obligation  towards  you." 

"  The  service  was  one  that  any  gentleman  might  have 
performed.  The  sight  of  that  carriage  with  the  blinds  down, 
and  the  knowledge  that  one  of  the  horses  that  was  drawing 
it  belonged  to  your  majesty,  might  well  have  excited  the 
suspicion  in  anyone  that  something  was  wrong.  That  idea 
once  entertained,  he  would  have  taken  steps  to  get  to  the 
bottom  of  the  mystery." 

The  regent  smiled.  "I  can  assure  you,  Captain  Hallett, 
that  few  of  my  countrymen  would  have  troubled  their  heads 
about  such  a  matter  one  way  or  another,  or  have  put  them- 
selves out  of  the  way  to  investigate  it.  The  premier  tells 
me  that  he  has  informed  you  of  the  course  they  intend  to 
take  as  to  these  traitors.  Has  it  your  approval  ? " 

"Entirely  so.  I  am  very  little  qualified  to  judge  such 
matters,  but  it  certainly  seems  to  me  in  the  highest  degree 
desirable  that  this  attempt  on  your  person  should  not  be 
generally  known.  People  may  guess  as  they  choose  when 
they  hear  that  these  men  have  been  banished  for  life,  but 
they  may  merely  suppose  that  they  have  been  concerned  in 
some  plot  or  other.  Anything  would  be  better  than  to  let 
it  be  known  that  you  had  been  actually  carried  off." 

That  evening  Arthur  paid  a  visit  to  Leon's,  and  was  re- 
ceived with  enthusiasm  by  the  three  girls.  "  Leon  has  been 
telling  us  all  about  your  doings,  Senor  Arthur,"  Inez  ex- 


A    CHALLENGE  259 

claimed.  "So  you  have  saved  the  two  queens  and  brought 
them  safely  back  to  Madrid?  It  was  splendid!  You  can't 
tell  how  proud  we  feel  of  you,  as  we  natter  ourselves  that 
we  are  your  greatest  friends  here." 

"  That  you  certainly  are,  Donna  Inez.  I  have  no  very 
intimate  friends  here  except  yourselves." 

"  As  for  Mercedes,  she  regularly  cried,"  the  girl  went  on. 

"  You  should  not  tell  such  things,  Inez,"  Mercedes  said, 
colouring  hotly.  "I  know  that  it  was  silly  of  me,  but  it 
did  seem  so  brave  and  so  wonderful." 

"  There  was  no  bravery  in  it.  The  only  time  when  there 
was  ever  real  danger  was  when  I  entered  the  house  and  dis- 
covered the  queens;  otherwise,  the  question  was  only  one  of 
sitting  so  many  hours  in  the  saddle." 

"  I  won't  have  you  belittle  yourself,"  Mercedes  said,  with 
an  attempt  at  playfulness.  "  It  was  just  the  same  thing  when 
you  rescued  me:  you  tried  to  make  out  that  anyone  could 
have  done  it.  It  was  altogether  a  splendid  deed." 

In  a  short  time  guests  began  to  arrive,  for  it  was  the  even- 
ing on  which  they  entertained.  Arthur  could  not  help  be- 
ing amused  at  the  talk,  which  turned  partly  on  the  young 
queen's  illness,  her  rapid  recovery,  and  what  would  have  hap- 
pened had  her  illness  been  a  serious  one. 

A  week  later  Arthur  appeared  at  the  trial  of  the  traitors, 
and  gave  evidence  as  to  their  proceedings.  Christina's  ac- 
count of  her  capture  was  read  aloud.  The  prisoners  at- 
tempted no  defence,  as  the  complicity  of  the  whole  of  them 
in  the  affair  was  too  evident  to  dispute.  They  were  all 
sentenced  to  death,  with  the  confiscation  of  their  estates. 
The  death-sentence,  however,  was  commuted  by  the  queen 
regent  into  banishment  for  life,  and  they  were  taken  to  the 
frontier  and  there  released. 

On  the  day  after  the  trial  the  estates  of  Count  de  Monte- 
roy  were  bestowed  upon  Arthur  by  decree  signed  by  the 
queen  regent  and  the  queen.  He  went  at  once  to  the  palace 
to  receive  the  document,  and  implored  the  regent  to  take 


260  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

back  the  gift.  "I  have  no  intention,  your  majesty,  of  re- 
maining in  Spain  after  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  and  the 
gift  would  be  a  burden  to  me.  I  could  not  look  after  the 
estates,  nor  see  to  the  welfare  of  my  tenants.  I  hope  that 
in  time,  when  all  these  matters  are  settled,  your  majesty  will 
be  able  to  recall  these  unhappy  men  and  replace  them  on 
their  estates.  Doubtless  an  amnesty  will  be  granted  at  the 
end  of  the  war,  and  I  trust  that  your  majesty  will  be  able 
to  include  even  these  malefactors,  who  will,  we  may  be  sure, 
be  moved  by  your  clemency  to  become  faithful  servants  of 
yours." 

"But  a  queen  cannot  be  ungrateful,  cavalero." 

"  Your  majesty,  it  is  sufficient  for  me  to  know  that  I  have 
your  gratitude,  and  I  shall  always  be  proud  to  know  that  I 
have  been  able  to  do  you  and  your  daughter  service,  there- 
fore I  implore  you  to  take  back  this  gift." 

"  I  cannot  refuse  any  petition  from  you,"  the  regent  said, 
and  taking  the  deed  of  gift  in  her  hands  she  tore  it  in  two; 
"  but  in  some  way,  at  least,  we  must  manifest  our  gratitude." 

Three  days  later  Arthur  received  a  business  notification 
from  a  banker  in  the  city  stating  that  the  sum  of  a  hundred 
thousand  crowns  had  been  paid  by  royal  order  to  his  ac- 
count, and  five  thousand  crowns  to  that  of  the  soldier,  John 
Roper.  He  felt  that  he  could  not  refuse  this  gift,  and 
called  at  the  palace  and  sincerely  thanked  the  two  queens 
for  it. 

"We  feel,  and  shall  always  feel,  that  we  are  under  the 
deepest  obligation  to  you,  senor ;  and  we  have  been  permitted 
to  show  you  but  a  very  small  portion  of  it." 

Roper  was  in  the  highest  degree  delighted.  He  had  now 
thrown  away  his  stick,  and  was  able  to  walk  fairly  well. 

"  Well,  Captain  Hallett,"  he  said,  "  I  never  thought,  when 
I  sailed  on  that  expedition  from  Liverpool,  that  I  should 
come  home  at  the  end  of  a  few  years  with  fifteen  hundred 
pounds  in  my  pocket;  nor,  when  we  sat  down  to  dinner  on 
board  that  hulk,  that  through  you  I  was  to  have  such  good 
fortune." 


A    CHALLENGE  261 

"You  must  not  put  it  in  that  way,  Koper.  It  has  come 
to  you  through  the  friendship  that  led  you  to  give  up  your 
stripes  in  order  to  follow  me,  and  for  the  service  you  did  in 
both  the  affairs  in  which  we  were  engaged  together." 

"It  is  mighty  little  I  did  beyond  following  your  orders. 
Now,  sir,  I  don't  care  how  soon  we  go  back  to  England." 

"  Nor  do  I,  Roper ;  but  we  must  see  this  business  out. 
From  what  I  hear,  Maroto,  Don  Carlos'  commander-in-chief 
in  the  north,  who  appears  to  be  an  unmixed  scoundrel,  is 
negotiating  with  Espartero  for  surrender.  He  has  already 
seized  and  murdered  six  of  the  Carlists'  best  generals,  who 
would,  he  knew,  be  opposed  to  his  projects.  If  the  nego- 
tiations do  not  fall  through,  there  is  an  end  to  the  Carlist 
cause  in  the  north,  and  Espartero  will  be  able  to  move  with 
his  whole  force  into  Aragon,  in  which  case  he  will  speedily 
bring  the  contest  to  an  end." 

A  week  later  Arthur  was  at  a  reception  at  Leon's,  when 
he  observed  a  man  scowling  at  him,  and  asking  his  name 
from  a  friend,  learned  that  he  was  Count  Silvio  de  Mora. 
He  thought  no  more  of  the  matter  at  the  time,  but  on  the 
following  morning  a  card,  with  the  name  of  Don  Pedro  de 
Verderas,  was  brought  in  to  him.  He  at  once  ordered  Roper 
to  show  him  up.  A  young  man  entered  and  bowed  courte- 
ously, but  waved  his  hand  aside  when  Arthur  offered  him  a 
chair. 

"  I  have  come  to  you,  senor,  on  the  part  of  my  friend 
Count  Silvio  de  Mora,  who  conceives  himself  to  be  seriously 
aggrieved  by  you." 

"Indeed,  sir;  in  what  way?  I  have  never  exchanged  a 
word  with  him  that  I  am  aware  of,  though  I  certainly  ob- 
served that  he  was  looking  unpleasantly  at  me  last  night." 

"  The  count's  grievance  is  a  very  clear  and  distinct  one, 
senor.  He  was,  as  you  are  doubtless  aware,  betrothed  to 
Donna  Mercedes  de  Balen.  That  young  lady,  as  a  conse- 
quence, he  tells  me,  of  her  being  captured  by  the  Carlists, 
wrote  by  the  hand  of  her  brother  to  say  that  the  shock  had 


262  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

been  so  great  that  she  was  determined  never  to  marry,  but 
to  spend  her  life  in  good  works.  The  count,  my  friend,  as- 
sented, though  deeply  troubled  by  the  decision.  The  count 
now  finds  that  by  common  report  Donna  Mercedes " 

"  Stay,  sir,"  Arthur  said  sternly,  "  don't  let  the  name  of 
Donna  Mercedes  de  Balen  be  brought  into  this  matter.  The 
Count  Silvio  de  Mora  conceives  that  he  has  a  quarrel  with 
me  and  demands  satisfaction.  That  is  quite  enough  as  be- 
tween two  gentlemen.  I  shall  be  perfectly  prepared  to  give 
him  that  satisfaction.  A  friend  of  mine  will  wait  upon  you 
to  arrange  the  preliminaries." 

"Nothing  can  be  more  satisfactory,"  the  Spaniard  said. 
He  and  Arthur  exchanged  deep  bows,  and  he  went  out. 

Arthur  sat  down  to  think  deeply.  He  was  now  twenty, 
with  an  experience  that  made  him  feel  years  older.  Donna 
Mercedes  was  a  year  younger,  and  gradually  for  a  long  time 
past  he  had  been  aware  of  the  fact  that  it  was  more  than 
the  friendship  brought  about  by  their  close  intimacy  that  he 
felt  towards  her.  She  was  in  all  respects  a  charming  girl. 
She  was  bright,  pleasant,  and  natural;  one  of  the  acknowl- 
edged beauties  of  Madrid.  He  had  often  told  himself  that 
it  would  be  wrong  of  him  to  presume,  on  the  friendship  of 
Count  Leon,  to  raise  his  eyes  to  his  sister,  who  was  co- 
heiress with  her  sisters  to  large  estates  which  had  been  the 
property  of  her  mother.  The  queen's  remark  about  her 
blushes  when  she  mentioned  him  had  often  recurred  to  him, 
and  they  had  suggested  to  him  that  possibly  it  was  not  mere 
gratitude  she  felt  for  him.  The  queen's  gift  had  placed  him 
in  a  better  position  than  before,  so  that  it  would  not  be 
necessary  to  ask  her  to  wait  five  years  before  he  would  be 
able  to  support  her  in  the  style  of  life  to  which  she  had  been 
accustomed.  He  had  been  intimate  with  the  family  in  a 
manner  altogether  contrary  to  Spanish  customs,  and  it  might 
well  be  that  she  had  come  to  care  for  him. 

"  Well,  I  will  speak  to  her  brother  about  it  after  this  affair 
is  over,"  he  concluded ;  "  and  now  I  will  send  word  to  Don 


A    CHALLENGE  263 

Lopez  Parona.  I  have  seen  a  good  deal  of  him,  and  no  doubt 
he  will  act  for  me." 

He  sent  Roper  off  with  a  note,  and  an  hour  later  the  young 
man  came  in. 

"  Don  Lopez,"  he  said,  "  Count  Silvio  de  Mora  has  forced 
a  quarrel  upon  me,  and  it  is  necessary  that  I  should  fight 
him.  I  have  sent  for  you  to  ask  if  you  will  be  my  second 
in  the  affair." 

"  With  pleasure,  Captain  Hallett.  What  arrangements 
do  you  wish  made  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  have  been  thinking  it  over.  I  don't  pretend  to 
be  a  really  good  shot  with  the  pistol,  though  I  have  prac- 
tised a  bit.  Do  you  know  whether  the  count  is  a  good 
swordsman  ? " 

"  He  has  the  reputation  of  being  an  excellent  one." 

"  Well,  I  took  lessons  with  the  sword  four  years  ago  when 
I  was  at  Vittoria,  but  I  have  never  used  a  straight  sword 
since.  I  don't  suppose  he  is  a  better  shot  with  the  pistol 
than  I  am.  I  wish  you  to  say  that  I  have  not  touched  a 
sword  for  years,  but  that  if  he  will  give  me  a  fortnight  to 
practise  I  will  choose  that  weapon;  if  he  objects  to  that,  I 
will  take  pistols.  I  fenced  for  nearly  six  months  at  Vit- 
toria and  worked  very  hard,  and  my  master  said  that  I  was 
really  a  good  swordsman,  and  had  learned  as  much  as  a 
Spaniard  would  in  two  years.  I  think  with  hard  work  that 
I  can  get  it  back  again  in  a  fortnight." 

Three  hours  later  Don  Lopez  returned.  "I  have  arranged 
it  as  you  desired.  It  seems  the  count  knows  nothing  of  pis- 
tols, and  he  is  quite  willing  to  give  you  a  fortnight  to  pre- 
pare for  the  encounter." 

"Very  well,  then.  I  will  go  this  evening  to  a  fencing 
school,  and  will  put  in  six  hours'  work  a  day,  divided  into 
three  lessons  of  two  hours  each." 

"  But  that  would  be  prodigious,  senor !  " 

"  If  you  feel  my  muscles  you  will,  I  think,  admit  that  they 
can  stand  pretty  hard  work." 


WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGIOtf 

Arthur  went  to  the  man  who  was  considered  to  be  the  first 
teacher  of  fencing  in  Madrid,  and  arranged  to  go  to  him 
three  times  a  day — at  eight  in  the  morning,  at  two  in  the 
afternoon,  and  at  seven  in  the  evening.  The  master  at  first 
said  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to  practise  for  so 
long  a  time. 

"  Well,  at  any  rate,  professor,  I  will  try.  It  is  quite  pos- 
sible that  for  the  first  three  or  four  days  I  shall  have  to  rest 
a  bit  sometimes,  but  I  think  at  the  end  of  the  fortnight  I 
shall  be  able  to  work  the  six  hours  a  day  without  difficulty." 

Arthur  took  off  his  coat  and  waistcoat,  and  turned  up  his 
shirt-sleeves. 

"  By  San  Martin,  you  have  a  wonderful  arm ! "  the  pro- 
fessor said. 

"We  play  hard  at  school  in  England.  All  our  games  de- 
mand strength  and  activity,  and  it  is  not  wonderful  that  our 
muscles  are  vastly  harder  and  stronger  than  those  of  your 
gentlemen,  who  would  consider  it  infra  dig.  when  boys  to 
engage  in  any  sport  that  would  make  them  warm." 

The  professor  felt  the  muscles  of  his  right  arm.  "  Well, 
senor,  if  you  fence,  as  your  muscles  would  seem  to  show,  you 
need  only  a  little  teaching  to  be  one  of  the  best  swordsmen 
in  Spain.  Then,  too,  your  height  and  age  give  you  great 
advantage.  Well,  senor,  take  the  foil  and  let  me  see  what 
you  know." 

"  Very  good,"  he  said,  after  a  bout  of  two  or  three  minutes. 
"  You  have  been  well  taught.  I  can  see  that  you  are  out  of 
practice,  and  your  returns  are  not  as  quick  as  might  be. 
However,  if  you  work  as  you  say,  that  will  soon  be  put 
right." 

After  the  lesson,  Arthur  found  his  wrist  recovering  its 
suppleness,  but  he  was  glad  to  stop  before  the  second  bout 
was  finished. 

"  You  will  do,  senor,"  the  professor  said,  when  he  acknowl- 
edged that  he  had  had  enough.  "  I  suppose  you  are  working 
in  this  way  for  a  purpose,  and  I  can  tell  you  that  I  should 
be  sorry  to  be  your  opponent." 


A    CHALLENGE  205 

Arthur's  wrist  and  arm  were  stiff  the  next  morning,  and 
he  was  not  sorry  to  follow  his  teacher's  advice  and  content 
himself  with  an  hour  and  a  half  at  each  lesson. 

The  first  week  Leon  in  vain  endeavoured  to  find  out  from 
him  where  he  had  spent  his  time.  "  I  used  almost  always 
to  find  you  in,"  he  said,  "  but  now,  whether  it  is  the  morn- 
ing or  the  afternoon,  I  find  you  away.  Of  an  evening  you 
have  often  dropped  in,  but  later  than  usual." 

"I  am  rather  busy  just  now,  Leon,  and  of  course  go  in 
every  morning  from  ten  to  one  to  Colonel  Wylde's  office, 
and  generally  for  an  hour  in  the  afternoon;  but  things  are 
so  quiet,  both  up  in  the  north  and  the  east,  that  he  does 
not  consider  it  necessary  for  me  to  start  again  at  present." 

"  Well,  the  girls  are  always  saying,  '  What  has  come  over 
Captain  Hallett  the  last  few  days?'" 

"  Tell  them,  please,  that  nothing  has  come  over  me,  but 
that  I  have  some  work  that  keeps  me  particularly  busy.  In 
another  ten  days  I  shall  have  brought  it  to  a  conclusion." 

Arthur  had  no  doubt  that  his  antagonist  had  not  altogether 
thrown  away  his  time,  and  that  he  too  had  been  practising ; 
but  he  thought  that  in  all  probability  this  was  confined  to 
a  little  dilletante  work  lasting  perhaps  for  an  hour  a  day. 

At  the  end  of  the  fortnight  the  professor  announced  that 
never  in  his  experience  had  he  seen  so  strong  an  arm  and 
so  supple  a  wrist,  and  that  he  believed  Arthur  could  easily 
hold  his  own  against  even  the  strongest  antagonist. 

"  I  myself  am  considered  a  good  blade,"  he  said,  "  but  dur- 
ing the  past  two  or  three  days  I  have  with  difficulty  held  my 
own  with  you,  and  indeed  you  have  hit  me  oftener  than  I 
have  hit  you ;  so  now  you  have  done  with  me." 

"  Yes,  professor ;  and  I  am  greatly  indebted  to  you  for  the 
time  you  have  spent  upon  me,  and  the  trouble  you  have 
taken." 

The  professor  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "You  have  paid 
me  well  for  it,  senor ;  but  it  has  been  a  real  pleasure  to  me. 
A*  teacher  is  always  interested  in  his  pupil,  and  when  he  is 


266  WITH  THE  BEITISH  LEGION 

fortunate  enough  to  have  a  pupil  like  you,  he  does  not  care 
what  trouble  he  bestows  upon  him.  Your  fencing  has  been  a 
revelation  to  me  of  what  your  countrymen  can  do.  I  speak 
not  of  the  skill,  but  of  the  power  to  sustain  fatigue.  When 
I  compare,  senor,  your  earnestness,  strength  of  muscle,  and 
quickness  of  wrist  with  the  work  of  the  young  nobles  arid 
cavaliers  who  come  to  me  and  flatter  themselves  that  they 
are  learning  to  fence,  I  can  well  understand  why  you  Eng- 
lishmen are  such  great  soldiers,  and  why  you  spread  your- 
selves over  the  world  and  conquer  it.  Three  centuries  ago 
the  men  of  my  race  were  great  soldiers.  They  were  strong 
and  hardy,  and  they  conquered  well-nigh  all  Europe,  till,  un- 
fortunately for  themselves,  they  fell  across  you,  and  from 
that  time  their  downfall  began.  You  fought  against  us  in 
Holland,  you  fought  with  the  Huguenot  King  of  Navarre  at 
Ivry,  you  fought  with  us  on  the  seas,  destroyed  our  Armada, 
captured  Cadiz,  and  demolished  our  mercantile  marine,  and, 
as  it  would  seem,  broke  the  spirit  of  our  people;  for  from 
that  time  we  have  steadily  gone  down.  It  makes  one  sad  to 
think  of  it." 


CHAPTEK  XVI 

ENGAGED 

ON  the  morning  of  the  fifteenth  day  after  Arthur  had 
received  Count  Silvio's  challenge,  the  two  seconds  met 
and  arranged  for  the  duel  to  take  place  at  a  distance  of  a 
mile  from  the  town.  It  was  to  be  at  seven  in  the  morning, 
so  that  there  would  be  no  fear  of  interruption.  Each  of  the 
gentlemen  was  provided  with  a  piece  of  string,  the  length  of 
the  sword  of  his  principal.  These  were  found  to  be  as  nearly 
as  possible  the  same  length.  It  was  agreed  that  the  count 
should  bring  a  surgeon  with  him,  and  that  no  other,  save 
the  seconds,  should  be  present  at  the  encounter.  Don  Lopez 


ENGAGED  267 

went  round  to  Arthur's  chambers  half  an  hour  before  the 
time  to  start.  Arthur  had,  the  night  before,  told  Roper  of 
what  was  going  to  happen,  and  given  him  instructions  as 
to  the  disposal  of  his  horses.  "  Take  anything  you  like  your- 
self, Roper.  What  money  I  have  will  be  in  that  desk;  you 
may  take  that  to  pay  for  your  journey  home.  You  will 
want  it,  as  we  both  sent  to  England  the  sums  we  had  in  the 
bank." 

"  I  have  no  fear,  captain,  that  I  shall  have  to  take  any 
such  step.  I  feel  sure  that  no  Spaniard  is  a  match  for  you." 

"You  can't  know  that,  and  certainly  I  have  no  reason  to 
believe  so.  If  it  came  to  downright  hard  hitting  I  fancy  I 
could  hold  my  own  against  most  Spaniards,  but  in  fencing 
it  is  a  different  thing;  it  is  not  a  question  of  strength  only 
by  a  long  way." 

"  Some  of  the  Spaniards  are  good  hardy  men,  captain,  no 
doubt;  but  very  few  of  these  will  be  found  among  the 
gentry,  who  pass  the  day  in  sleeping,  dawdling  about,  and 
smoking  cigarettes  and  drinking  coffee.  Well,  I  suppose, 
sir,  there  is  no  harm  in  my  going  out  and  taking  up  a  place 
where  I  can  see  what  goes  on  ? " 

"  None  at  all,  Roper ;  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  count  will 
have  a  number  of  his  friends  to  look  on.  I  am  sure  he 
expects  to  run  me  through  without  trouble,  and  he  will  like 
to  show  off  his  prowess  before  his  friends." 

They  drove  in  a  carriage  to  the  place  fixed  upon  for  the 
'encounter.  As  Arthur  had  expected,  a  score  or  two  of  gen- 
tlemen had  collected  near.  He  spoke  to  his  second,  who  went 
up  to  that  of  his  antagonist  and  said :  "  My  principal  under- 
stood that  this  matter  was  to  be  kept  private,  and  that  none 
but  ourselves  should  be  informed  of  it." 

This  was  repeated  to  the  count,  who  shrugged  his  shoul- 
ders and  said:  "I  mentioned  it  to  a  few  friends,  and  no 
doubt  they  told  others,  but  it  makes  no  difference  whatever." 

Arthur  pressed  his  lips  tightly  together  when  the  answer 
was  repeated  to  him.  "  You  want  your  performances  to  be 


268  WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION 

seen,  eh?"  he  muttered.  "Perhaps  you  will  be  sorry  you 
have  got  so  many  witnesses  before  you  have  done." 

The  preliminaries  were  speedily  settled,  and  the  two  an- 
tagonists removed  their  coats  and  waistcoats,  and  faced  each 
other.  The  count  began  with  a  few  preliminary  flourishes, 
intended  to  show  off  his  swordsmanship,  and  how  lightly  he 
thought  of  the  encounter.  He  was  fully  half  a  head  shorter 
than  his  antagonist,  and  the  latter's  much  longer  reach  would 
have  given  him  a  decided  advantage  had  they  been  equal  in 
other  respects.  Arthur  stood  firmly  on  guard,  contenting 
himself  with  putting  aside  almost  contemptuously  the  other's 
play.  He  waited  till  the  count  steadied  down,  and  began  in 
earnest.  Then,  to  the  astonishment  of  his  antagonist,  he 
took  the  offensive.  In  vain  the  latter  tried  to  get  within 
his  point;  in  vain  he  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost,  spring- 
ing in  and  out ;  with  scarce  a  movement  of  his  wrist  Arthur's 
point  played  in  a  little  menacing  circle.  There  were  no  fierce 
lunges  to  be  turned  aside,  no  openings  left  to  be  taken  ad- 
vantage of.  Steadily  Arthur  advanced,  and  foot  by  foot 
his  antagonist  had  to  give  way. 

In  vain  the  count  exerted  himself  to  his  utmost.  The 
perspiration  streamed  from  his  face,  and  his  expression 
changed  from  that  of  half -contemptuous  superiority  to  rage 
and  uneasiness.  Again  and  again  the  count  felt  that  his 
adversary  was  but  playing  with  him,  and  that  he  avoided 
taking  advantage  of  openings  that  had  been  left  him.  His 
opponent's  face  was  grave  and  earnest,  but  without  any  other 
emotion.  Little  by  little  Arthur's  advance  was  accelerated. 
In  vain  the  Spaniard  attempted  to  stand  his  ground  against 
the  menacing  point.  In  spite  of  his  greatest  efforts  he  had 
to  give  way,  and  was  driven  backwards  across  the  green  sward 
on  which  the  encounter  was  taking  place,  till  he  was  close  to 
its  boundary.  Then  there  was  a  sudden  wrench,  and  his 
sword  was  sent  flying  through  the  air. 

Arthur  lowered  his  point,  and  said  in  a  quiet,  deliberate 
voice  that  could  be  heard  by  all  the  astonished  spectators: 


ENGAGED  269 

"  You  seem  to  be  a  little  out  of  breath,  senor ;  perhaps  you 
would  like  to  wait  for  three  or  four  minutes  before  we  begin 
again." 

The  count,  white  with  rage  and  shame,  walked  and  picked 
up  his  sword. 

"  Now,  senor,"  Arthur  went  on,  after  a  pause  of  two  or 
three  minutes,  "we  will  recommence  the  affair.  Hitherto  I 
have  but  played  with  you,  now  I  warn  you  that  I  shall  run 
you  through  the  shoulder  when  I  get  you  to  the  other  side 
of  the  field." 

Again  the  singular  scene  began.  In  vain  the  count  en- 
deavoured to  circle  round  his  foe;  in  vain  he  tried  to  arrest 
his  own  steady  retreat.  Move  as  he  would  to  change  his 
position,  Arthur  with  his  long  stride  and  quick  spring  always 
kept  in  front  of  him.  In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  he  was  driven 
back  across  the  field;  then  for  the  first  time  Arthur  lunged. 
His  antagonist's  sword  dropped  useless  by  his  side  as  he  ran 
him  through  the  upper  part  of  the  arm  and  shoulder. 

"  This  may  perhaps  serve  as  a  lesson  to  you,  count,  not 
to  pick  quarrels  gratuitously  with  strangers  of  whose  force 
you  are  unacquainted.  Your  life  has  been  in  my  hands  a 
hundred  times  had  I  chosen  to  avail  myself  of  the  openings, 
but  I  did  not  wish  seriously  to  injure  you.  You  have 
brought  a  number  of  gentlemen  here  to-day  to  witness  your 
triumph:  I  trust  that  they  have  been  amused." 

So  saying,  he  turned  and  walked  back  to  the  spot  where 
he  had  left  his  clothes,  put  them  on,  and  entered  the  carriage 
with  his  second,  beckoning  to  Roper,  who  was  standing  a 
short  distance  away,  to  get  up  on  the  box. 

"  Truly  you  have  astounded  me ! "  Don  Lopez  said.  "  I 
thought  that  with  your  height  and  length  of  arm  you  would 
give  him  some  trouble,  but  such  an  exhibition  as  this  was 
never  seen ! "  and  he  burst  into  a  fit  of  laughter.  "  The 
count  won't  be  able  to  show  his  face  in  Madrid  again  for  I 
know  not  how  long.  The  wound  to  his  body  is  nothing,  but 
that  to  his  pride  is  terrible.  He  will  never  hear  the  end  of 


270  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

it.  To  think  that  he  was  driven  right  across  a  field  as  if 
he  had  been  a  pig  under  a  peasant's  goad,  without  a  possi- 
bility of  stopping;  that  he  should  have  been  disarmed  and 
played  with,  is  too  funny.  Of  course,  the  thing  will  get 
about  all  over  Madrid.  You  will  have  to  be  careful,  though, 
Don  Arthur,  how  you  go  out  after  dark,  or  you  may  find 
yourself  with  a  dagger  between  your  shoulders.  It  would 
scarcely  be  in  human  nature  for  a  man  to  put  up  with  being 
made  a  public  laughing-stock  without  trying  to  get  his  re- 
venge, and  certainly  Don  Silvio  is  not,  from  what  I  know  of 
him,  likely  to  be  an  exception  to  the  rule." 

"  Yes ;  no  doubt  I  shall  have  to  be  careful.  I  suppose 
one  can  buy  such  a  thing  as  a  shirt  of  link  armour  in 
Madrid?" 

"  Oh,  yes ;  there  are  plenty  of  them  to  be  picked  up  in  the 
shops  where  they  keep  old  weapons  and  curiosities;  a  good 
one  costs  money  though." 

"Money  is  nothing,"  Arthur  said.  "If  one  gets  such  a 
thing  one  wants  to  have  as  good  a  one,  and  at  the  same  time 
as  light  a  one,  as  money  can  buy.  Would  you  mind  getting 
one  for  me,  Lopez  ?  I  would  rather  not  be  seen  buying  such 
a  thing  myself." 

"  With  pleasure.  I  will  make  a  tour  of  all  the  shops  where 
they  are  likely  to  keep  such  things,  and  pick  out  the  best 
that  I  can  find  for  you,  and  it  is  hard  if  I  don't  manage  to 
get  you  one  by  this  evening;  although  I  think  you  are  safe 
for  a  few  days,  for  were  you  found  stabbed  now,  everyone 
would  put  it  down  to  Don  Silvio  at  once.  I  should  say  that 
he  would  hardly  attempt  such  a  thing  in  Madrid.  You  are 
likely  to  be  in  much  greater  danger  when  you  go  off  to  join 
the  army  again." 

"Yes,  I  think  that  would  be  the  case;  but  still,  I  would 
rather  not  risk  his  beginning  at  once." 

"  Quite  right ;  I  certainly  should  not  if  I  were  in  your 
place." 

On  reaching  his  apartments  Arthur  sat  down  to  breakfast 


ENGAGED  271 

with  his  friend.  Not  until  the  latter  had  left  did  Roper 
make  any  allusion  to  the  scene  he  had  witnessed. 

"  Now,  Captain  Hallett,"  he  said,  on  returning  to  the  room 
after  letting  the  visitor  out,  "  what  did  I  tell  you  it  would 
be?  I  stayed  at  a  distance  and  roared  with  laughter.  It 
was  the  funniest  thing  I  ever  saw — to  see  him  dancing  with 
rage,  and  you  pushing  him  steadily  backwards  with  scarcely 
a  movement  of  your  sword.  It  was  worse  than  a  fight  I  once 
saw  in  the  streets  of  Liverpool.  One  of  those  bullying  fel- 
lows who  stand  at  the  corners  of  streets  and  insult  passers- 
by  pushed  against  a  quiet-looking  chap  that  was  passing  him. 
Well,  sir,  this  happened  to  be  a  noted  prize-fighter,  and  the 
way  he  gave  that  fellow  pepper  was  worth  walking  a  good 
many  miles  to  see.  There  is  no  fear  of  your  having  to  fight 
another  duel  while  you  are  out  here." 

"I  think  not,  Roper;  but  at  the  same  time  I  shall  have 
to  be  careful.  When  a  Spaniard  cannot  get  revenge  any 
other  way,  sometimes  he  hires  an  assassin  to  put  a  dagger 
between  his  enemy's  shoulders." 

"  Well,  sir,  I  must  take  to  going  out  with  you,  and  we 
must  not  be  out  after  dark." 

"  I  am  going  to  have  even  a  better  guard  than  you  would 
be.  I  have  asked  Don  Lopez  to  get  me  a  shirt  of  mail. 
People  used  to  wear  them  a  good  deal  in  olden  times,  and 
I  feel  that  I  shall  be  all  the  safer  for  using  one  for  a  bit." 

"  That  will  be  a  good  plan,  sir;  still,  at  the  same  time,  it 
might  be  advisable  for  me  to  keep  near  you.  I  may  as  well 
be  doing  that  as  anything  else,  and  if  there  is  to  be  any 
sticking  with  knives,  I  should  like  to  have  a  hand  in  it." 

"  Very  well,  Roper ;  at  any  rate,  you  can  walk  with  me 
when  I  am  going  anywhere.  Of  course,  I  cannot  tell  always 
at  what  hour  I  may  be  returning,  and  I  should  not  like  to 
keep  you  waiting  about  for  hours." 

"  Oh,  you  could  tell  me  the  hour  before  which  you  would 
not  be  leaving,  captain,  then  I  would  be  at  hand  at  that 
time.  I  may  as  well  smoke  my  pipe  there  as  anywhere  else. 


272  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

The  chances  are  that  I  should  always  find  someone  to 
talk  to." 

Three  hours  later  Leon  came  in. 

"  What  is  this  you  have  been  doing  ? "  he  said  excitedly. 
"I  have  been  to  the  club,  and  nothing  else  is  being  talked 
about  but  a  duel  between  you  and  Count  Silvio  de  Mora. 
They  say  it  was  the  strangest  fight  ever  seen — that  you  drove 
him  across  the  meadow,  then  disarmed  him,  and  told  him 
to  get  his  breath;  then  drove  him  back  again,  and  finally, 
after  sparing  him  fifty  times,  you  ran  him  through  the 
shoulder." 

"  These  are  about  the  facts  of  the  case,"  Arthur  replied 
quietly.  "  I  should  have  been  very  glad  if  nothing  had  been 
said  about  the  affair,  and  I  arranged  that  no  one  but  our 
seconds  and  the  surgeon  should  be  present.  Instead  of  that, 
the  count  chose  to  tell  some  thirty  or  forty  of  his  friends; 
no  doubt  he  thought  to  make  an  example  of  me.  The  con- 
sequence is,  as  you  say,  that  the  affair  has  got  all  over  the 
town,  to  my  great  annoyance." 

"  But  what  was  the  quarrel  about  ?  " 

"It  was  about  a  private  matter,  and  I  would  rather  that 
you  did  not  ask  me  to  tell  you  more;  enough  that  he  forced 
it  upon  me." 

"But,  my  dear  Arthur,  it  seems  to  me  that  this  must 
affect  me.  Why  should  the  count  have  fixed  a  quarrel  upon 
you?  If  he  had  forced  one  upon  me,  on  account  of  Mer- 
cedes throwing  him  over  a  year  ago,  I  should  not  have  been 
surprised;  though  I  don't  know  why  he  should  have  done  so, 
as  he  appeared  to  have  taken  his  dismissal  in  very  good  part. 
Why  should  he  quarrel  with  you  ? " 

"  Because  it  was  his  fancy,  I  suppose,  Leon." 

"  Tut,  tut !  "  the  other  said  warmly.  "  It  seems  to  me  that 
this  is  a  matter  that  concerns  my  family,  and  I  must  really 
ask  you,  my  dear  Arthur,  to  tell  me  frankly  how  it 
occurred." 

Arthur  sat  silent  for  a  minute. 

u  Well,  Leon,  I  may  as  well  ask  you  a  question  now  which 


ENGAGED  273 

I  should  have  asked  you  shortly.  I  have  long  loved  your 
sister  Mercedes.  I  have  refrained  from  speaking  for  three 
reasons.  In  the  first  place,  because  I  am  very  young.  You 
have  chosen  to  laugh  at  me  when  I  said  so,  but  in  point  of 
fact  I  am  only  twenty !  " 

"  Only  twenty !  "  Leon  said  incredulously ;  "  I  have  always 
taken  you  to  be  as  old  as  myself." 

"  And  I  have  told  you  that  I  was  not  so.  I  repeat  I  am 
not  yet  twenty,  and  am  therefore  only  a  year  older  than 
your  sister.  The  second  reason  I  have  regarded  as  more 
serious:  I  am  an  Englishman,  and  should  necessarily  take 
her  home  if  she  married  me.  In  the  third  place,  I  was  not 
in  a  position  pecuniarily  to  ask  her  to  be  my  wife  until  I 
was  five-and-twenty  and  came  into  my  estate.  The  last  of 
these  reasons  has  ceased  to  exist  by  my  having  received  from 
the  queens  a  present  of  one  hundred  thousand  crowns  for  the 
service  I  rendered  them.  I  had  begged  them  very  strongly 
not  to  offer  me  any  reward  for  that  service,  but  Christina  said 
that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  remain  under  so  great 
an  obligation  to  me.  I  spite  of  that  I  should  have  still  re- 
fused, or,  if  I  found  that  I  could  not  do  so,  have  handed 
over  the  money  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor;  but  the  thought 
that  it  would  at  least  remove  one  of  the  obstacles  that  stood 
in  the  way  of  my  asking  you  for  your  sister's  hand,  decided 
me  in  accepting  it,  as  it  would  enable  me  to  keep  her  in  a 
position  similar  to  that  which  she  has  held  at  home,  until 
I  come  into  my  estate.  That  estate  was  worth  at  my  father's 
death  about  one  thousand  English  pounds  a  year.  Then 
there  is,  of  course,  a  good  house  and  grounds,  and  the  ac- 
cumulation of  the  income  during  the  past  ten  years  will  have 
amounted  to  a  sum  which  would  enable  me  to  double  the 
size  of  the  estate.  Therefore,  I  have  only  the  first  two  diffi- 
culties. It  is  for  you  to  decide  whether  these  are  insuper- 
able. So,  Leon,  I  ask  you  now  for  the  hand  of  your  sister, 
and  I  can  promise  that,  if  you  grant  it  and  she  consents,  I 
will  do  all  in  my  power  to  make  her  happy." 


274  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

Leon  rose  and  grasped  Arthur  by  the  hand.  "Nothing 
can  give  me  greater  pleasure,  my  dear  fellow,  than  to  grant 
the  request  you  have  made.  I  shall,  of  course,  be  sorry  to  lose 
her,  but  England  is  not  so  far  from  Spain,  and  I  doubt  not 
that  you  will  bring  her  over  to  see  us  sometimes.  I  and  my 
sisters  may  even  visit  you  occasionally  in  England.  There 
is  no  one  to  whom  I  would  so  gladly  see  her  united,  for  you 
have  fairly  won  her.  You  saved  her  from  death,  and  I  have 
ever  since  hoped  that  some  day  you  would  claim  her.  As 
to  her  feelings  I  can,  of  course,  say  nothing,  but  I  am  not 
altogether  blind,  and  it  has  long  been  evident  to  me  that  she 
thinks  of  no  one  but  you.  As  to  money,  it  is  a  secondary 
matter,  though  I  do  not  say  that  it  is  not  an  advantage  that 
you  should  have  an  income  of  your  own,  and  not  owe  every- 
thing to  her.  She  has,  however,  a  not  inadequate  portion, 
as  my  mother  was  an  only  daughter  and  a  wealthy  heiress, 
and  her  fortune  will  be  divided  between  my  three  sisters: 
her  share  would  amount  roughly  to  some  seven  or  eight 
thousand  crowns  a  year.  There  is  but  one  drawback  to  the 
match,  and  that  is  the  difference  of  religion.  You  know 
how  bigoted  we  Spaniards  are;  we  do  not  allow  any  Prot- 
estant place  of  worship  to  exist,  save  only  the  private  chapel 
of  your  ambassador;  and  the  priesthood  will  move  heaven 
and  earth  to  prevent  this  marriage  taking  place.  Indeed,  it 
seems  to  me  that  the  only  plan  will  be  for  me  to  take  her  to 
England,  and  for  her  to  be  married  there.  However,  the 
obstacle  is  not  a  serious  one  in  my  eyes.  That  you  are  a 
Protestant  is  amply  sufficient  to  show  that  there  are  as  good 
men  of  one  religion  as  of  another.  Well,  will  you  come  with 
me  at  once  ?  " 

"I  will  come  this  evening,  Leon.  I  would  rather  it  had 
not  been  settled  to-day,  when  I  have  just  been  engaged  in 
shedding  blood.  However,  that  was  not  my  fault.  Will  you 
be  alone  this  evening  ? " 

"  Yes,  so  far  as  I  know." 

"Then  I  will  come  in  after  dinner.    I  am  more  nervous 


ENGAGED  275 

about  this  than  I  was  before  meeting  Count  Silvio.  You  see, 
you  have  so  long  made  up  your  mind  that  I  was  a  man, 
while  I  have  been  thinking,  and  still  feel  that  I  am  only  a 
boy." 

"  Nonsense,  Arthur !  you  stand  over  six  feet.  You  have 
the  strength  of  two  ordinary  Spaniards.  You  have  accom- 
plished marvels  and  won  the  gratitude  of  queens.  It  is  per- 
fectly ridiculous  for  you  to  talk  in  that  way.  Well,  then, 
I  shall  expect  you  this  evening.  Mercedes  and  the  girls  have 
gone  out  this  morning,  and  no  doubt  she  will,  in  the  course 
of  her  visits,  have  heard  of  your  prowess  to-day,  which  will 
be  a  good  introduction,  although  I  do  not  think  she  will  be 
surprised  in  any  way,  as  her  confidence  in  your  abilities  to 
do  anything  you  undertake  is  absolute." 

Don  Lopez  came  in  late  that  afternoon.  "I  have  seen 
quite  a  perfect  coat  of  mail,"  he  said.  "  It  was  made  for  a 
bishop  of  Toledo  who  had  many  enemies,  and  is  a  hundred 
and  fifty  years  old.  It  is  very  light,  and  can  withstand  any 
dagger  thrust.  It  is  dear:  the  man  wants  five  hundred 
crowns  for  it,  and  declares  that  he  will  not  take  a  penny 
less." 

"  Thank  you,  Lopez,  that  will  suit  me  admirably.  I  will 
give  you  an  order  for  that  sum.  Will  you  ask  him  to  send 
it  round  to  me  in  the  morning  ? " 

Arthur  was  very  nervous  when  he  started  that  evening  for 
Count  Leon's.  He  still  felt  in  many  respects  a  boy,  and  in 
spite  of  Leon's  report,  he  felt  it  hardly  possible  that  Donna 
Mercedes  could  have  come  to  love  him.  He  dressed  himself 
in  his  evening  suit  with  unusual  care,  but  did  not  start  till 
the  last  moment.  He  was  shown  up  into  the  drawing- 
room  as  usual.  Mercedes  and  her  two  sisters  were  in  the 
room. 

"  I  have  to  quarrel  with  you,"  the  former  said  laughingly. 
"  I  hear  that  you  have  been  cruelly  ill-treating  a  gentleman 
in  whom  I  had  once  a  great  interest; — not  only  ill-treating 
him,  but  turning  him  into  a  laughing-stock.  Now,  senor,  I 


276  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

demand  that  you  tell  us  what  it  was  about,  and  why  you  have 
thus  assailed  a  gentleman  to  whom,  as  you  know,  I  was  once 
much  attached." 

"  Were  you  much  attached  to  him,  Donna  Mercedes  ? " 

"Well,"  she  said,  pouting,  "you  know  I  was  all  but  affi- 
anced to  him." 

"  By  your  own  wishes,  senora  ?  " 

"  Well,  never  mind  about  my  own.  wishes,"  she  said ;  "  it 
is  quite  sufficient  that  I  was  almost  affianced  to  him.  Now 
I  demand  from  you  again  a  true  and  complete  history  how 
this  came  about." 

"Well,"  he  said,  "you  can  hardly  expect,  senora,  that  I 
should  go  into  particulars  of  this  kind  before  your  sisters — 
young  ladies,  who  cannot  but  be  horrified  by  deeds  of  vio- 
lence." 

Mercedes  laughed.  "  Well,  you  will  tell  me  some  day, 
won't  you,  what  it  was  all  about,  and  why  you  so  ill-treated 
him?  I  hear  that  he  will  not  be  able  to  show  his  face  for 
some  time  in  Madrid." 

"  I  will  tell  you  all  that  is  good  for  you  to  learn,"  he  said 
in  a  tone  of  banter.  "  I  know  that  you  must  be  grieving 
terribly  over  it." 

"Of  course  I  am,  dreadfully!"  the  girl  said.  "When  I 
heard  how  you  had  been  treating  him,  I  almost  made  up  my 
mind  not  to  speak  to  you  again.  Ah,  here  is  Leon,  and  look- 
ing as  serious  as  a  judge." 

Leon  came  up  to  Mercedes,  and  to  her  surprise  took  her 
by  the  hand. 

"  Little  sister,"  he  said,  "  I  have  a  very  serious  duty  to 
perform.  I  have  had  another  request  for  your  hand." 

The  girl  turned  pale.  "  You  know,"  she  said,  "  that  I  do 
not  intend  to  marry,  Leon;  I  have  told  you  so  over  and 
over  again." 

"  That  may  be  so,  sister,  but  I  believe  that  ladies  change 
their  minds  in  these  matters  not  infrequently.  The  gentle- 
man who  is  your  suitor  is  not  unknown  to  you.  He  is  of 


ENGAGEP  277 

good  blood  and  honourable  position.  You  will,  perhaps,  an- 
ticipate his  name.  It  is  the  Cavalero  Captain  Arthur  Hal- 
lett,  a  Knight  of  Isabella  of  the  first  class,  and  a  Companion 
of  the  Order  of  Fernando  the  Catholic." 

The  girl's  face,  which  had  been  set  with  a  mutinous  ex- 
pression, changed  suddenly,  a  deep  wave  of  colour  rushed 
over  her  face  and  her  head  drooped. 

"He  has  my  willing  consent  to  the  alliance,  Mercedes; 
indeed,  I  know  of  no  one  in  the  world  to  whom  I  could  so 
willingly  commit  you  and  your  happiness." 

"  I  know,  senora,"  Arthur  said,  "  that  I  am  very  unworthy 
of  so  great  a  gift,  but  at  least  I  can  promise  to  do  my  best 
to  make  you  happy." 

The  girl  lifted  her  head  suddenly.  "  Do  not  say  that  you 
are  unworthy,"  she  said.  "It  is  I  who  should  say  that. 
Have  you  not  saved  me  from  death?  Have  you  not  saved 
Spain  from  being  ruined  ?  It  is  I  who  feel,  above  all  things, 
honoured  by  your  love." 

Then  Leon  said,  with  a  slight  smile:  "I  don't  think  that 
there  is  any  occasion  for  me  to  lay  my  orders  upon  you  on 
the  subject.  Take  her,  Arthur.  I  can  trust  her  happiness 
in  your  hands  with  a  certainty  that  my  confidence  will  not  be 
abused ; "  and  he  gave  her  hand  to  Arthur,  who  bent  down 
and  kissed  her. 

The  two  younger  girls  clapped  their  hands  loudly.  "  Oh, 
Arthur ! "  Inez  exclaimed,  "  I  shall  never  call  you  Don  Ar- 
thur again.  We  are  pleased!  We  always  knew  that  Mer- 
cedes was  fond  of  you — anyone  could  have  seen  that  with 
half  an  eye,  but  we  did  not  know  what  you  felt  towards  her. 
We  are  pleased,  I  cannot  tell  you  how  much!  I  believe  we 
are  more  pleased  than  she  is." 

"  Now,  you  madcap !  "  her  brother  said ;  "  suppose  you  two 
come  in  with  me  to  the  next  room,  and  let  us  leave  these  two 
young  people  alone." 

"  And  did  you  really  doubt  that  I  loved  you  ?  "  Mercedes 
said  a  short  time  afterwards.  "I  have  been  so  afraid  of 


278  WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION 

showing  it  too  much;  but  after  being  carried  in  your  arms 
all  that  journey,  I  knew  that  I  could  never  marry  anyone 
else.  If  you  had  not  asked  for  me  before  you  went  away,  I 
should  have  assuredly  gone  into  a  convent." 

Half  an  hour  later  the  others  returned  to  the  room,  and 
they  held  a  long  conversation  together.  It  was  finally  agreed, 
in  view  of  the  opposition  that  would  be  raised  by  the  Span- 
ish clergy,  on  the  grounds  of  the  difference  of  religion,  that 
the  engagement  should  be  kept  quiet  for  a  time,  and  that 
things  should  go  on  as  they  were. 

"  It  cannot  be  many  months  before  this  war  is  over,"  Leon 
said,  "  and  you  will  be  returning  to  England.  You  will 
necessarily  be  away  a  great  deal,  and  it  will  avoid  much 
trouble  and  argument  if  you  assent  to  the  matter  being  kept 
quiet." 

Both  Mercedes  and  Arthur  agreed  that  it  would  be  better 
so,  as  they  felt  sure  that  there  would  be  a  vehement  oppo- 
sition on  the  part  of  the  clergy  if  a  member  of  a  noble  fam- 
ily contracted  a  marriage  with  a  heretic. 

To  Arthur's  surprise,  when  he  called  next  morning  Mer- 
cedes, who  received  him  alone,  said  with  a  flush,  "  Good- 
morning,  Arthur !  "  in  English.  He  looked  at  her  with  sur- 
prise. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  understand  English,  Mer- 
cedes?" 

"I  have  been  learning  it  for  the  past  year,"  she  said  in 
imperfect  English,  but  with  a  pretty  accent.  "  I  loved  you, 
Arthur,  after  you  had  saved  me,  and  so  I  loved  everything 
English ;  and  as  I  had  plenty  of  time  upon  my  hands  I  have 
spent  two  hours  a  day  ever  since  in  learning  it.  I  had  no 
difficulty  in  finding  a  mistress,  for  several  English  families 
settled  in  the  town  after  the  last  war." 

"And  you  thought,  perhaps,  that  it  would  come  in  use- 
ful, Mercedes?" 

"  I  did  not  quite  like  to  think  that,"  she  said,  glancing  at 
him;  "but  it  seemed  to  me  that  perhaps,  as  I  loved  you  so 


ENGAGED  279 

much,  you  might  some  day  come  to  love  me.  I  never  quite 
thought  so,  you  know,  but  I  could  not  help  sometimes  hop- 
ing it.  Anyhow,  sir,  it  is  quite  enough  for  you  that,  what- 
ever was  the  reason,  I  have  learned  English;  and  now,  when 
we  are  together  alone  you  must  always  talk  it  with  me.  I 
want  to  get  to  speak  quite  perfectly  before  I  go  to  England 
and  meet  your  friends." 

"You  really  talk  it  very  fairly  now,"  he  said,  "and  you 
must  not  be  in  the  least  afraid  that  anyone  will  find  fault 
with  you." 

"  I  suppose  you  have  heard,"  Leon  said  a  few  days  later, 
"  that  Don  Silvio  is  still  in  Madrid.  They  say  he  will  see 
no  one." 

"  I  shall  feel  rather  glad  when  he  is  gone,  Leon.  He  is  evi- 
dently a  revengeful  fellow;  that  is  quite  clear  by  the  way  in 
which  he  fixed  a  quarrel  upon  me.  He  won't  do  anything 
himself,  but  I  think  he  is  quite  capable  of  hiring  a  ruffian 
to  put  me  out  of  the  way.  I  know  that  plenty  of  unprin- 
cipled characters  are  to  be  found  in  the  city  who  would  will- 
ingly do  the  job  for  a  few  dollars." 

"  I  have  no  doubt  about  that,  and  I  was  intending  to  speak 
seriously  to  you  on  the  subject.  Things  are  still  very  quiet, 
but  I  dare  say  Colonel  Wylde  would  send  you  to  one  or 
other  of  the  armies  if  you  were  to  ask  him." 

"  I  am  not  at  all  disposed  to  go  until  I  am  obliged  to ;  I 
am  enjoying  myself  a  great  deal  too  much  for  that.  But  I 
have  taken  precautions.  Roper  comes  with  me  every  even- 
ing to  your  house,  and  meets  me  at  the  door  when  I  go  away ; 
and,  moreover,  I  have  bought  a  shirt  of  mail.  It  is  a  splen- 
did example  of  the  best  sort  of  work  of  that  kind.  I  have  put 
it  on  the  table  and  tried  to  drive  a  knife  through  it,  but  strik- 
ing with  all  my  force  I  simply  broke  the  weapon  and  did  not 
injure  the  chain.  I  put  it  on  now  whenever  I  go  out  after 
dark." 

"I  am  very  glad  to  hear  it.  No  amount  of  strength  or 
bravery  can  save  a  man  from  the  hands  of  an  assassin,  and 


280  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGIOtf 

a  good  mail  shirt  is  worth  a  score  of  guards,  for  a  man  who 
bides  his  time  will  always  find  a  chance  sooner  or  later." 

"  That  is  how  I  look  at  it,  and  I  can  assure  you  that  I 
am  far  too  happy  at  the  present  time  to  be  willing  to  throw 
away  the  smallest  chance." 

Three  days  later  Don  Lopez  called  at  Arthur's  rooms. 

"  I  have  heard  this  morning  that  Don  Silvio  has  gone  out 
of  town.  Now  you  will  have  to  look  to  yourself.  So 
long  as  he  was  here  I  considered  that  you  were  safe,  for  if 
anything  happened  to  you  suspicion  would  at  once  fall  upon 
him.  Now  that  he  is  away,  people  might  suspect  as  much 
as  they  liked,  but  it  would  be  extremely  difficult  to  bring 
the  matter  home  to  him." 

"  But  I  should  hardly  think  he  will  do  anything  more  in 
the  matter,"  Arthur  said. 

"  I  think  quite  the  contrary,"  Lopez  replied.  "  If  you  had 
simply  met  him  and  wounded  him,  the  thing  might  have 
passed  off  quietly.  That  would  have  shown  that  you  were 
the  better  swordsman,  and  there  would  have  been  an  end  of 
it.  But  you  have  made  him  the  laughing-stock  of  the  town. 
It  will  be  a  joke  against  him  all  his  life  that  he  was  driven 
about  like  a  sheep  by  a  man  whom  he  boasted  he  was  going 
to  kill  like  a  dog,  and  he  will  never  get  over  it.  No  one  could 
stand  such  disgrace  with  equanimity,  but  of  course  it  is  in- 
finitely worse  for  a  man  as  proud  and  as  touchy  about  his 
family  as  he  is." 

"  I  will  look  out,  but  I  don't  think  any  precautions  will  be 
of  much  value.  If  a  man  wants  to  stab  you,  he  is  sure  to 
find  an  opportunity  sooner  or  later.  However,  I  have  my 
coat  of  mail,  and  I  rely  more  upon  that  than  on  any  vigilance 
on  my  part  or  on  Roper's." 

Two  days  later,  when  Arthur  was  returning  home  from 
Leon's,  two  men  sprang  out  from  a  dark  entry  and  struck 
at  his  back.  Sharp  exclamations  broke  from  them  as,  in- 
stead of  their  knives  burying  themselves  to  the  hilt,  they 
struck  on  a  hard  substance.  Arthur  was  nearly  knocked 


LITTLE    BY    LITTLE    ARTHUR'S    ADVANCE    ACCELERATED 


ENGAGED  281 

down  by  the  force  of  the  blows,  but  springing  round,  he 
seized  both  men  by  the  throat  before  they  could  recover  from 
their  surprise.  Roper,  who  was  walking  some  ten  paces  in 
the  rear,  rushed  up. 

"  All  right,  Roper,  I  have  got  them ! "  Arthur  cried,  and 
squeezing  their  throats,  he  dashed  their  heads  together  with 
all  his  strength  two  or  three  times,  with  the  result  that  as 
he  released  his  hold  they  fell  to  the  ground  insensible. 

"  I  think  we  will  walk  on,  Roper.  I  must  have  pretty 
nearly  broken  their  skulls,  to  say  nothing  of  half  choking 
them.  If  we  were  to  give  them  into  custody  it  would  be  an 
endless  affair,  and  I  might  be  kept  here  for  months.  They 
will  certainly  not  repeat  the  experiment,  and  whatever  at- 
tempt Don  Silvio  may  make  next,  it  will  not  be  in  the  same 
direction." 

The  next  morning  he  told  Leon  of  what  had  happened. 

"  I  don't  know  whether  you  did  right  to  let  them  go,  Ar- 
thur. There  is  nothing  to  prevent  this  fellow  from  trying 
again  in  some  other  way." 

"  Nor  would  there  have  been  if  I  had  given  them  into  cus- 
tody. You  may  be  sure  that  his  bribes  would  be  large 
enough  to  secure  their  silence  as  to  who  had  employed  them, 
and  they  would  simply  have  declared  that  they  only  attacked 
me  to  obtain  possession  of  any  valuables  I  might  have  about 
me.  Don  Silvio  is  rich,  and  it  is  a  hundred  to  one  that,  be- 
fore the  trial  came  on,  the  men  would  have  escaped.  A 
hundred  pounds  would  bribe  any  jailer  in  Spain.  If  by  ac- 
cident this  failed,  he  would  bribe  the  judges,  so  that  nothing 
would  ever  come  out  against  the  villain  who  set  the  men  on 
me,  and  I  might  be  kept  dancing  attendance  on  the  courts 
for  months." 

"  That  is  true  enough,  Arthur.  Still,  the  matter  would  be 
kept  hanging  over  his  head,  and  until  it  was  settled  he  would 
be  hardly  likely  to  make  another  attempt  upon  you.  How- 
ever, we  need  not  discuss  it  now  that  you  have  let  the  fel- 
lows go  scot-free." 


282  WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION 

"  I  have  not  let  them  go  scot-f ree,  I  can  assure  you.  In 
the  first  place  I  nearly  strangled  them,  and  in  the  second  I 
am  by  no  means  sure  that  I  did  not  fracture  their  skulls." 

"  That  sort  of  man  has  got  a  very  hard  skull,"  Leon  an- 
swered. "Probably  you  would  have  fractured  mine  if  you 
had  dashed  it  against  somebody  else's  with  those  muscular 
arms  of  yours,  but  I  have  doubts  whether  the  head  of  a  pro- 
fessional bravo  would  not  stand  even  such  a  blow  as  that — 
I  won't  say  with  impunity,  but  at  least  without  any  very 
serious  damage." 

"Don't  say  anything  to  Mercedes  about  is,  it  would  only 
fidget  her.  And  I  can  assure  you  it  does  not  disquiet  me. 
The  mail  shirt  has  indisputably  proved  that  it  is  knife-proof, 
and  when  Don  Silvio  receives  the  reports  from  these  two 
gentlemen  he  will  see  that  all  attempts  to  dispose  of  me  in 
that  way  will  be  in  vain.  I  give  him  credit  for  ingenuity, 
and  it  is  quite  possible  he  will  hit  upon  some  other  idea. 
However,  I  trust  that  I  shall  be  able  to  meet  it,  whatever  it 
is ;  and  indeed  I  shall  be  somewhat  interested  to  see  what  his 
next  plan  may  be." 

"  What  do  you  say,  Arthur,  to  my  mentioning  this  affair 
at  the  club,  and  saying  loudly  that  I  have  no  doubt  what- 
ever it  is  the  outcome  of  your  duel  with  him  ? " 

"  My  dear  Leon,  that  would  simply  entail  his  challenging 
you,  and  the  man  really  doesn't  fence  badly.  It  was  only 
my  superior  length  of  arm  and  sheer  strength  that  overbore 
him." 

"  I  could  refuse  to  fight  him,"  Leon  said. 

"  No,  I  don't  think  you  could,  and  certainly  I  should  not 
like  you  to  do  so.  You  and  I  may  feel  perfectly  convinced 
that  this  attack  upon  me  last  night  was  his  work,  but  we 
have  no  absolute  proof  of  it.  The  fact  that  I  beat  him  in  a 
duel  simply  shows  that  I  am  a  much  better  swordsman  than 
he  is,  and  is  no  reflection  upon  his  character.  So  you  see, 
if  you  were  to  bring  this  accusation  against  him,  without 
having  a  shadow  of  real  proof,  I  doubt  if  you  could  refuse 


ENGAGED  283 

to  meet  him.  You  see,  the  man  has  a  large  circle  of  friends 
and  relatives,  and  possesses  much  influence.  You  were  will- 
ing to  accept  him  as  a  brother-in-law,  and  although  just  at 
present  the  town  has  a  laugh  against  him,  that  would  not 
prevent  his  friends  from  rallying  round  him  were  you  to 
bring  such  a  terrible  accusation  against  him  as  that  of  his 
setting  assassins  on  me." 

"  No,  I  suppose  not,"  Leon  said  regretfully.  "  You  know, 
Arthur,  I  feel  more  grateful  to  you  than  ever,  for  it  is  evi- 
dent now  that  you  not  only  saved  Mercedes  from  death,  but 
from  marriage  with  a  man  of  whose  real  character  I  was 
altogether  ignorant.  How  grieved  I  should  have  been  had 
she  been  tied  to  such  a  man,  who  would  assuredly  have  shown 
himself  in  his  true  colours  sooner  or  later ! " 

"  Yes,  she  has  certainly  had  a  narrow  escape,  Leon,  though 
I  cannot  help  thinking  that  in  any  case  you  would  have 
learned  more  of  him  before  the  marriage  came  off." 

Leon  shook  his  head. 

"  I  don't  see  how  I  could.  He  bore  a  very  respectable 
character,  and  indeed  was  thought  highly  of.  That  he  should 
have  picked  a  quarrel  with  you  is  not  altogether  unnatural 
in  the  circumstances,  and  really  this  attempt  upon  your  life 
is  the  only  thing  I  have  against  him.  It  is  a  thousand  pities 
now  that,  instead  of  treating  him  as  you  did,  you  did  not 
run  him  through  and  have  done  with  him." 

"  I  don't  know  that  it  has  made  much  difference,  Leon. 
He  has,  as  you  say,  powerful  friends  and  connections,  and 
whereas,  if  he  had  fallen  in  a  duel  with  yourself  or  any  other 
noble  of  his  own  rank,  they  would  have  thought  no  more  of 
the  matter,  they  would  certainly  have  attempted  to  avenge 
his  death  if  I,  a  foreigner  and  a  heretic,  had  killed  him. 
The  Church  counts  for  a  great  deal,  and  I  believe  he  is  a  very 
rigid  Catholic;  therefore  the  chances  are  that  there  would 
have  been  a  terrible  row  over  it,  and  I  might  have  had  to 
leave  the  kingdom,  which,  in  the  present  circumstances, 
would  be  particularly  disagreeable  to  me." 


284  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

"  Well,  perhaps  you  are  right,"  Leon  said.  "  The  really 
unfortunate  part  of  the  affair  is  that  he  should  have  taken 
it  into  his  head  to  resent  the  fact  that  Mercedes  did  not 
keep  to  her  resolution  of  remaining  single  and  perhaps  going 
into  a  convent." 

"  But  you  did  not  guarantee  that  she  would,  Leon  ? " 

"No;  but  you  know,  in  that  letter  that  you  wrote  and  I 
signed,  we  certainly  gave  him  to  understand  that  she  broke 
off  the  engagement  on  those  terms." 

"  Yes,  that  was  so.  But  I  imagine  that  a  young  lady  has 
the  right  to  change  her  mind  without  being  called  to  account 
for  it." 

"Yes,  that  is  all  very  well,  but,  you  see,  the  gentleman 
has  also  some  sort  of  right  to  resent  it.  Well,  it  is  useless 
to  say  any  more  about  it.  You  have  let  the  fellows  go,  and 
whether  for  good  or  evil  the  matter  is  concluded  as  far  they 
are  concerned." 


CHAPTEK  XVII 

KIDNAPPED 

APKIEST  was  sitting  at  a  table  in  a  second-class  cafe 
when  a  gentleman  entered  and  came  up  to  the  table. 

"Good-morning,  count,"  the  priest  said.  "I  received 
your  note  asking  me  to  meet  you  at  this  place,  and  here  I 
am." 

"  Thanks,  father,"  the  other  said,  as  he  took  a  seat  beside 
him  and  ordered  coffee.  He  waited  till  it  was  brought,  and 
then  went  on :  "I  wanted  to  see  you  about  a  rather  delicate 
matter  that  concerns  you,  and,  I  may  say,  the  Church." 

The  priest  looked  surprised. 

"  You  are,  I  know,"  the  count  went  on,  "  the  spiritual  ad- 
viser of  Count  Leon  de  Balen  and  his  family  ? " 

"I  can  hardly  say  of  the  count,"  the  priest  said  with  a 


KIDNAPPED  285 

smile,  "for,  like  too  many  young  noblemen  of  his  age,  he 
does  not  trouble  me  with  his  confessions;  but  of  the  ladies, 
yes." 

"  May  I  ask  if  Donna  Mercedes  comes  very  often  to  con- 
fession?" 

"Well,  my  son,  unless  you  ask  for  some  very  particular 
reason,  that  is  a  question  I  should  not  care  to  answer." 

There  was  a  ring  of  dissatisfaction  in  the  priest's  answer 
that  the  count  was  not  slow  to  notice. 

"  I  have  a  reason  for  asking,"  he  said.  "  You  know,  father, 
that  I  was  at  one  time,  I  will  not  say  actually  betrothed,  but 
very  nearly  so,  to  Donna  Mercedes.  She  broke  off  the  affair 
under  the  plea  that  she  had  made  up  her  mind  to  remain 
single  and  to  devote  herself  to  good  works." 

"So  she  told  me,"  the  priest  said,  "  and  I  highly  approved 
of  her  determination." 

"  May  I  ask,  father,  if  she  has  repeated  that  statement  to 
you  of  late  ?  " 

"  She  has  not  come  to  me  frequently  of  late,"  the  priest 
said  in  a  tone  that  showed  it  was  a  sore  point  with  him. 

"  I  thought  so,"  the  count  went  on.  "  Well,  father,  you 
can  hardly  help  noticing  that  for  some  time  past  a  young 
English  adventurer  has  been  frequently  at  the  house." 

The  priest  nodded. 

"  He  is  a  friend  of  her  brother's.  It  is  a  matter  that  I 
have  regretted,  as  I  have  considered  that  so  close  an  intimacy 
with  a  heretic  is  not  seemly;  but  this  cannot  affect  Donna 
Mercedes." 

"  I  should  say,  father,  that  it  does,  very  seriously.  I  have 
information  of  what  takes  place  in  the  house,  and  I  can 
assure  you  that  if  not  already  engaged,  it  is  certain  that 
Donna  Mercedes  will  be  betrothed  to  this  adventurer  before 
long." 

The  priest  uttered  an  angry  exclamation. 

"  It  would  be  a  grave  scandal,  a  terrible  scandal,"  he  said, 
"for  the  daughter  of  a  noble  house  to  be  betrothed  to  a 
heretic!" 


286  WITH   THE   BKIT1SH  LEGION 

"  And  a  serious  loss  to  the  Church  too,"  the  count  said 
smoothly.  "If  this  marriage  could  be  prevented,  doubtless 
she  would  revert  to  her  previous  intention  of  entering  a  con- 
vent; and  I  need  hardly  say  that  she  is  an  heiress,  and  that 
her  revenues  would  be  better  employed  in  the  Church  than 
by  this  young  heretic." 

The  priest  nodded.  The  fact  was  too  evident  to  need 
argument. 

"I  have  done  my  best  to  prevent  it,"  the  count  went  on, 
"by  challenging  this  young  upstart  to  a  duel;  but,  as  you 
may  perhaps  have  heard,  he  proved  himself  the  better  swords- 
man. I  have,  therefore,  resolved  to  lay  the  matter  frankly 
before  you,  in  order  that  you  may,  if  you  choose,  put  a  stop 
to  what,  as  you  say,  would  be  a  grievous  scandal." 

"  I  do  not  see  how  I  could  do  so,"  the  priest  said  gloomily. 
"  It  would  be  useless  for  me  to  speak  to  her  brother,  who  is 
most  to  blame,  for  he  should  not  have  permitted  so  close  an 
intimacy  to  arise.  Nor  do  I  think  that  I  should  succeed  with 
Donna  Mercedes  herself.  She  is,  I  regret  to  say,  of  a  some- 
what headstrong  disposition.  I  have  more  than  once  spoken 
to  her  about  this  strange  intimacy  between  her  brother  and 
a  gentleman  who  is  at  once  a  foreigner  and  a  heretic,  but  she 
has  always  replied  that  it  was  a  matter  on  which  I  should 
speak  to  her  brother  and  not  to  her,  as  it  was  he  who  had 
brought  him  to  the  house.  And  once  when  I  tried  to  press 
the  matter  she  said,  in  a  tone  that  was  not  altogether  seemly, 
that  he  had  saved  her  life,  as  of  course  I  had  heard — though, 
for  my  part,  I  doubt  whether  Cabrera  would  have  carried 
his  threat  into  execution — and  that  she  certainly  would  not 
take  any  step  to  induce  her  brother  to  close  his  doors  to  his 
visits." 

"  "No,  father,  I  did  not  think  for  a  moment  that  any  per- 
suasions would  turn  this  unhappy  girl  from  the  course  on 
which  she  seems  to  be  bent." 

"  What,  then,  do  you  propose  ?  I  am  willing  to  take  any 
steps  that  would  put  a  stop  to  this  deplorable  state  of 
things." 


KIDNAPPED  287 

"Well,  father,  you  know  that,  although  some  laxity  has 
been  shown  of  late  years,  the  laws  against  infidelity  to  the 
Church  are  still  in  force." 

"  That  is  so,"  he  said.  "  But  this  young  man  is,  it  ap- 
pears, an  agent  of  his  government;  and  though  we  could  as- 
suredly use  these  laws  against  a  native,  we  could  scarcely 
put  them  in  force  against  a  commissioner  of  a  friendly 
country." 

"That  I  foresaw,"  the  count  said;  "but  what  cannot  be 
done  openly  can  be  done  privately.  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that  if  this  young  adventurer  were  shut  up  in  a  ceU 
in  a  monastery  for  a  few  years,  Donna  Mercedes,  when  all 
trace  of  him  was  lost,  would  revert  to  her  original  intention 
and  enter  a  convent,  in  which  case  her  property  would  go  to 
the  Church." 

The  priest  was  silent  for  some  time. 

"  It  is  a  daring  plan,"  he  said,  "  one  of  which  I  certainly 
could  not  approve  did  I  see  any  other  way  of  saving  this  un- 
fortunate girl  from  eternal  perdition,  which  would  doubt- 
less befall  her.  Were  she  to  marry  this  English  stranger,  no 
doubt  she  would  in  time  adopt  his  religion.  I  must  think 
it  over.  It  would  be  a  grave  step  to  take,  and  if  it  were  to 
be  discovered  it  might  cause  a  serious  scandal;  at  the  same 
time  something  might  be  risked  for  the  sake  of  this  young 
lady's  eternal  welfare." 

"  I  do  not  think  that  the  risk  would  be  worth  taking  into 
consideration,"  the  count  said.  "There  must  be  plenty  of 
cells  in  your  monasteries  where  he  could  be  confined  without 
the  smallest  fear  of  discovery.  He  would,  of  course,  be  well 
treated;  and  after  Donna  Mercedes  had  taken  the  veil  he 
might  even  be  released  on  taking  an  oath  never  to  divulge 
where  he  had  been,  or  to  make  any  complaint  as  to  his  treat- 
ment. He  would,  doubtless,  be  glad  enough  to  regain  his 
liberty  on  those  terms. 

"  When  he  disappeared  suspicion  would  naturally  fall  upon 
me,  for  it  is  well  known  that  I  have  great  cause  of  com- 


288  WITH   THE   BRITISH   LEGION 

plaint  against  him.  People  would  say  that  I  had  had  him 
quietly  removed — a  grievous  suspicion  to  have  to  bear;  but 
I  would  do  so  cheerfully  in  order  to  save  Donna  Mercedes 
from  this  young  adventurer,  whom  her  brother  has  so  fool- 
ishly and  incautiously  allowed  to  lead  her  away.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  I  shall  be  watched  for  a  long  time ;  but  assuredly 
no  suspicion  whatever  could  fall  upon  the  Church  of  having 
come  to  the  lady's  rescue." 

"  Certainly,  her  marriage  to  this  heretic  would  be  a  ter- 
rible scandal,"  the  priest  said,  "  and  one  to  be  avoided  by 
every  possible  means.  Well,  my  son,  I  will  think  it  over,  and 
will  lay  the  matter  before  higher  authorities.  Will  you  meet 
me  here  again  in  a  few  days'  time,  when  I  shall  probably  be 
able  to  give  you  an  answer?  " 

"  Good,  father.  I  feel  at  any  rate  that  I  have  only  done 
my  duty  in  endeavouring  to  save  this  young  lady,  whom  I 
sincerely  esteem  and  respect,  although  there  are  no  longer 
any  relations  between  us.  It  appeared  to  me  that  it  was  a 
matter  in  which  the  Church  should  interfere;  and  having 
now  laid  it  before  you,  I  feel  that  my  conscience  is  relieved, 
and  that  I  have  no  further  interest  in  the  matter." 

"I  see,  my  son,  that  your  opinion  is  an  entirely  disinter- 
ested one,  and  that  you  are  acting  simply  in  the  interest  of 
this  young  lady  and  of  the  Holy  Church." 

The  count  and  the  priest  met  again  two  days  later. 

"  My  son,  the  matter  has  been  decided  upon.  I  have  laid 
it  before  my  bishop,  and  he  agrees  with  me  that  it  is  in- 
cumbent on  the  Church  to  take  every  means  to  prevent  this 
young  lady  from  going  to  eternal  perdition.  The  monastery 
in  which  this  young  man  shall  be  confined  has  been  settled 
upon.  Perhaps  you  can  tell  us  the  best  way  in  which  he 
can  be  secured,  for  he  is  assuredly  a  man  of  exceptional 
strength  and  not  likely  to  suffer  himself  to  be  carried  away 
without  a  severe  struggle." 

"  That  is  so,  father.  The  matter  is  not  without  difficulty," 
the  count  said.  "  After  nightfall  he  never  goes  out  without 


KIDNAPPED 

being  attended  by  a  pestilent  knave,  his  servant,  and  the  two 
could  not  be  overcome  without  a  veritable  battle.  He  must, 
therefore,  be  taken  in  the  daytime.  If  you  like,  father,  I 
will  undertake  that  part  of  the  business,  although  it  is  not 
to  be  done  without  some  difficulty  and  danger.  He  must  be 
enticed  by  a  fictitious  message  to  some  quiet  house.  Here 
six  men  will  be  waiting  for  him,  and  as  soon  as  he  enters 
they  will  fling  themselves  upon  him  and  overpower  him. 
They  will  then  bind  him,  and  leave  him;  then,  when  it  is 
dark,  either  a  carriage,  or  a  stretcher  carried  by  four  lay 
brothers  of  the  monastery,  can  come  for  him  and  carry  him 
off,  it  makes  but  little  difference  to  me  whither,  and  I  would 
rather  not  know,  so  that  I  may  be  able  to  swear  that  I  have 
not  seen  him  since  the  day  we  met,  and  that  I  am  wholly 
ignorant  of  his  whereabouts.  If  you  will  be  here  every  day 
at  this  hour,  I  will  come  and  tell  you  when  the  bird  is 
caged." 

"  So  be  it,  my  son,  and  indeed  we  shall  all  feel  grateful  to 
you  for  the  service  you  will  have  rendered  the  Church." 

The  next  morning  Arthur  received  the  following  letter : 

"  Senor  Hallett,  the  writer  of  this  letter  has  become  aware 
of  a  plot  against  you  and  a  certain  young  lady  in  whom 
you  have  a  great  interest.  If  you  will  call  on  him  at  twelve 
o'clock,  he  will  be  awaiting  you  on  the  second  etage  of  the 
Number  2  Strada  de  Barcelona,  the  first  door  to  the  right. 
He  prays  you  to  be  silent  as  to  this  rendezvous,  as  his  life 
would  be  forfeited  were  it  known  that  he  had  made  this 
communication  to  you." 

The  street  was  a  central  one  and  largely  frequented,  so  no 
thought  entered  Arthur's  mind  that  there  could  be  any  dan- 
ger in  attending  at  the  rendezvous;  and  accordingly  at  a 
quarter  to  twelve  he  left  his  house,  carrying,  however,  a 
brace  of  pistols  in  his  pocket.  On  arriving  at  the  place  in- 
dicated, he  passed  through  the  open  doorway  and  ascended 
the  stairs  to  the  second  floor,  then  he  rang  the  bell  of  the 
door  to  the  right.  It  was  opened  by  a  little  old  woman. 


290  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

"  Come  in,  senor,"  she  said ;  "  you  are  expected." 

He  entered;  she  closed  the  door  behind  him,  and  led  the 
way  to  an  inner  room.  He  was  about  to  go  in,  when  there 
was  a  rush  of  footsteps  behind  him,  and  four  men  flung 
themselves  suddenly  on  to  his  back,  the  weight  and  impetus 
of  the  charge  throwing  him  forward  on  his  face.  Before 
he  could  recover  from  his  surprise  and  attempt  to  struggle, 
a  rope  was  thrown  over  his  head,  pulled  down  to  his  elbows, 
and  then  tightened,  and  in  a  minute  he  was  bound  and  help- 
less. He  was  carried  into  the  room  and  the  knots  more 
securely  fastened,  his  wrists  being  bound  tightly  behind  his 
back,  and  his  ankles  lashed  together.  Then  two  of  the  men 
left  the  room,  and  the  others  remained  sitting  with  their 
knives  in  their  hands. 

Arthur  cursed  his  own  folly  in  not  having  let  Roper  know 
where  he  was  going;  and  yet,  as  he  told  himself,  it  was  but 
natural  that,  having  been  informed  that  the  plot  affected 
Mercedes,  he  should  have  kept  the  matter  to  himself.  That 
he  had  fallen  into  the  power  of  Count  Silvio  he  did  not 
doubt  for  a  moment;  and  yet  he  thought  that,  unscrupulous 
and  revengeful  as  he  might  be,  he  would  hardly  venture  to 
put  him  to  death.  Every  moment  he  expected  him  to  ap- 
pear, but  the  hours  went  slowly  by.  He  had  been  gagged 
as  soon  as  he  was  bound,  and  no  effort  he  had  made  had 
sufficed  to  get  the  gag  from  his  mouth.  From  time  to  time 
he  heard  footsteps  as  people  went  up  and  down  to  the  floor 
above,  and  if  he  could  have  freed  his  mouth  he  would  have 
shouted,  in  spite  of  the  knives  with  which  his  guards  men- 
aced him.  At  length  the  light  faded  and  the  room  pres- 
ently became  dark. 

Half  an  hour  after  night  had  fallen,  he  heard  a  ring  at 
the  bell.  One  of  the  guards  answered  it,  and  four  figures 
in  monks'  clothes  and  with  hoods  over  their  heads  entered. 
They  brought  a  stretcher  and  laid  it  down  beside  Arthur, 
lifted  him  upon  it,  and  fastened  a  strap  across  his  shoulders 
and  another  across  his  legs;  then  they  lifted  the  stretcher 


KIDNAPPED  291 

and  bore  him  away.  He  was  greatly  puzzled  by  the  pro- 
ceedings. These  might  be  men  employed  by  the  count  and 
disguised  as  monks — he  could  hardly  believe  that  they  were 
really  monks.  He  was  carried  for  a  long  time,  but  as  a  cloth 
had  been  thrown  over  him,  he  could  form  no  idea  whatever 
as  to  the  direction  in  which  his  bearers  were  proceeding. 
When  they  stopped  and  knocked  at  a  door,  however,  he  cal- 
culated that  the  journey  had  occupied  at  least  three  hours. 
They  might  therefore  have  come  miles  from  the  city,  but  on 
the  other  hand  they  might  have  wound  about,  and  so  might 
not  be  a  hundred  yards  from  the  place  where  he  was  captured. 
A  door  opened,  and  after  a  pause  they  moved  on  again. 
Then  Arthur  felt  that  they  were  descending  some  stairs. 
When  they  reached  the  bottom  they  turned  into  another  door, 
lowered  the  stretcher  to  the  ground,  and  took  off  the  cloth. 
The  ropes  that  bound  Arthur  were  loosed,  a  lantern  was 
placed  on  the  floor,  and  without  a  word  the  whole  party  of 
monks  left  the  cell  and  locked  the  door  behind. 

Arthur  got  up  at  once,  picked  up  the  lantern,  and  ex- 
amined his  prison.  It  was  a  cell  some  ten  feet  square.  At 
one  side  was  a  stone  pallet,  on  which  some  straw  had  been 
thrown,  otherwise  the  floor  was  perfectly  bare.  The  only 
window  was  an  opening  near  the  ceiling  about  a  foot  long 
and  six  inches  wide,  with  two  strong  bars  across  it. 

"Well,"  he  said  to  himself,  "this  certainly  looks  like  a 
monk's  cell,  or  rather  the  prison  cell  of  a  monastery,  and  it 
appears  as  if  I  had  not  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  count 
after  all.  Things  are  bad  enough  in  all  conscience,  but  even 
to  be  in  the  grip  of  the  Inquisition,  which  does  not,  so  far 
as  I  know,  exist  now,  would  be  better  than  to  be  in  the  hands 
of  such  a  scoundrel.  Still,  it  is  strange  that  the  Church 
should  have  interfered  with  me.  I  know  how  bigoted  the 
clergy  are,  and  how  unscrupulous,  but  I  should  not  have 
thought  that  they  would  have  dared  to  meddle  with  a  Brit- 
ish officer.  However,  I  can  hardly  believe  that  they  will 
attempt  my  life;  I  don't  see  what  good  it  could  do  them. 


292  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

I  would  give  a  good  deal  to  know  what  their  game  is.  Well, 
I  suppose  it  is  useless  to  bother  about  it  at  present.  I  am 
so  stiff  both  in  the  wrists  and  ankles  that  I  can  scarcely 
stand.  At  any  rate,  it  is  civil  of  them  to  leave  me  a  light." 

In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  door  opened  again,  and  two 
monks  came  in.  They  put  a  large  jug  of  water  and  a  dish 
of  fried  beans  on  the  floor,  and  retired  without  speaking. 

"Let  me  think/'  Arthur  said  to  himself.  "This  is  Fri- 
day, so  I  suppose  it  is  fast  day.  I  hope  this  is  not  a  sample 
of  their  ordinary  fare.  However,  as  I  have  had  nothing 
since  breakfast,  it  is  not  to  be  despised." 

He  ate  a  hearty  meal,  and  then  lay  down  on  the  stone 
bench,  and  was  soon  asleep.  When  he  awoke  daylight  was 
shining  through  the  little  window,  and  he  got  up  and  looked 
round  again.  Certainly  the  prospect  was  not  a  cheering 
one;  the  walls  were  perfectly  bare,  and  broken  only  by  the 
door  and  the  window.  As  the  cell  was  twelve  feet  high,  the 
window  was  altogether  beyond  his  reach.  He  would  have 
given  a  good  deal  to  be  able  to  look  out  and  see  whether  he 
was  in  a  town  or  in  the  country,  and  whether  or  not  the  win- 
dow opened  into  a  courtyard.  This  question  was,  however, 
presently  settled  by  the  sound  of  the  rumble  of  distant  ve- 
hicles. At  long  intervals  one  passed  the  window,  and  occa- 
sionally a  foot  passenger  went  by.  Arthur  therefore  con- 
cluded that  he  was  in  a  town,  and  was  equally  certain  that 
the  window  looked  into  a  quiet  and  little-frequented  street, 
and  was  probably  level  with  the  pavement.  This,  however, 
gave  him  but  little  clue  to  the  position  of  the  monastery, 
for  there  were,  he  knew,  at  least  a  dozen  such  buildings  in 
the  town.  Still,  it  was  something  to  know  that  he  was 
within  reach  of  human  beings. 

By  standing  against  the  opposite  wall,  he  could  now  ob- 
tain a  glimpse  through  the  window.  He  saw  that  the  wall 
of  the  building  must  be  at  least  two  feet  thick.  Having 
made  what  observations  he  could,  he  sat  down  on  his  bed 
and  waited  for  what  should  come  next.  Presently  his  break- 


KIDNAPPED  293 

fast  was  brought  in;  it  consisted  of  bread,  some  fried  meat, 
and,  to  his  satisfaction,  some  coffee.  An  hour  later  the  door 
opened  again,  and  a  tall  man  with  a  harsh  ascetic  face 
entered. 

"  You  perhaps  wonder  why  you  are  confined  here  ? "  he 
said.  "  I  have  come  to  tell  you.  You  are  an  obstacle  to 
the  designs  of  the  Church.  You  have  seduced  the  affections 
of  one  of  her  daughters,  and  in  order  that  she  may  be  saved 
from  perdition,  which  would  be  her  doom  if  she  were  to 
marry  a  heretic,  it  has  been  thought  necessary  to  seclude 
you  here.  Doubtless,  in  time  she  will  recover  from  the 
glamour  that  you  have  thrown  over  her,  and  will  deeply  re- 
gret her  passing  aberration;  will  again  become  an  obedient 
daughter  of  the  Church,  and  perhaps  find  a  happy  refuge  in 
its  cloisters.  When  this  takes  place  you  will  be  released, 
but  not  until  then.  We  do  not  desire  to  be  harsh  with  you; 
you  may  be  supplied  with  books  and  other  indulgences,  but 
a  prisoner  you  will  remain  until  she  enters  the  walls  of  a 
cloister." 

"  I  understand,  senor,"  Arthur  said  quietly ;  "  and  perceive 
that  it  is  the  lady's  revenues,  and  not  her  soul,  which  are 
the  main  object  of  your  care.  Well,  senor,  you  have  made 
me  a  prisoner,  but  I  have  sufficient  faith  in  the  young  lady's 
affection  to  believe  that  until  she  is  absolutely  convinced  of 
my  death  she  will  not  turn  her  thoughts  towards  the  cloister, 
and  that  therefore  you  are  likely  to  have  me  on  your  hands 
for  a  very  considerable  time.  At  least,  I  am  grateful  to  you 
for  your  offer  of  books,  and  shall  be  glad  if  you  will  furnish 
me  with  a  selection." 

"  I  may  say  further,"  the  man  said,  "  that  you  will  be  in- 
structed in  the  tenets  of  our  religion,  and  that  should  you 
see  the  error  of  your  ways  and  ask  to  be  received  into  the 
bosom  of  the  Church,  possibly  all  further  objection  to  your 
union  with  the  young  lady  in  question  may  be  removed." 

Arthur  laughed.  "Your  opinion  of  my  principles  must 
be  a  very  low  one  if  you  can  suppose  that  I  shall  be  tempted 


294:  WITH    THE    BRITISH 

to  abandon  them  even  with  such  a  bait  as  you  have  been 
good  enough  to  hold  out." 

"Naturally  that  is  your  opinion  at  present,"  the  monk 
said  coldly ;  "  it  may  alter  after  a  few  months  of  confine- 
ment." 

"  I  fancy  not,  senor ;  and  I  warn  you  that  no  more  serious 
offence  can  be  committed  than  the  capture  and  imprisonment 
of  an  officer  in  the  British  service." 

"  I  am  prepared  to  take  that  risk,  senor,  and  you  are  not 
likely  to  be  released,  whatever  happens,  until  matters  are 
arranged.  I  will  now  leave  you  to  yourself." 

When  the  door  had  opened  Arthur  observed  that  a  num- 
ber of  monks  were  grouped  in  the  passage  outside,  evidently 
prepared  to  fall  upon  him  should  he  offer  any  violence  to 
their  prior,  or  attempt  to  make  his  escape. 

When  the  prior  had  left,  Arthur  sat  down  and  thought 
the  matter  over.  The  look-out  was  certainly  not  bright. 
He  saw  that  he  had  very  little  chance  of  making  his  escape 
from  the  monastery.  It  was  no  doubt  a  large  building,  with 
any  number  of  passages  and  corridors,  in  which,  if  he  could 
escape  from  the  cell,  he  would  simply  be  lost,  so  that  long 
before  ho  could  find  his  way  to  the  gate,  he  would  be  over- 
taken and  captured  again.  One  thing,  however,  he  might  do. 
~No  doubt  for  a  short  time  the  two  monks  who  brought  him 
provisions  would  be  accompanied  by  others,  but  when  they 
found  that  he  showed  no  signs  of  trying  to  effect  his  escape, 
they  would  become  less  vigilant.  In  that  case  he  might  pos- 
sibly overcome  these  two  men,  make  his  escape  to  the  story 
above,  and  drop  out  a  note  from  the  window  which  might 
be  taken  to  Leon,  who  would  assuredly  obtain  his  release 
without  delay.  He  could  tear  a  blank  page  out  of  one  of 
the  books  with  which  he  was  to  be  provided,  and  write  a 
message  upon  it.  His  pencil  had  not  been  taken  from  him, 
nor  his  pocket-knife. 

The  days  went  on.  He  had  no  reason  to  complain  of  his 
treatment;  the  food  was  good  and  wholesome;  the  monks 


KIDNAPPED  295 

who  attended  to  him  brought  a  can  of  water  daily,  carried 
away  his  basin  and  emptied  it,  and  swept  out  his  cell.  A 
mattress  and  blankets  had  been  substituted  for  the  straw, 
a  supply  of  such  books  as  he  asked  for  had  been  brought  to 
him,  and  it  was  evident  that  his  captors  desired  that  he 
should  have  nothing  to  complain  of  save  his  loss  of  liberty. 

After  ten  days  he  resolved  to  carry  his  plan  into  execu- 
tion. Tearing  out  a  blank  leaf  carefully,  he  wrote  upon  it : 

"  I  am  confined  in  a  monastery.  I  can  give  no  informa- 
tion as  to  its  position  save  that  it  is  in  the  town.  Apply  to 
regent  for  an  order  to  search." 

He  then  signed  his  name,  folded  up  the  slip  of  paper,  and 
on  the  outside  wrote: 

"  One  hundred  dollars  will  be  paid  by  the  Count  Leon  de 
Balen  to  anyone  who  will  bring  this  note  to  him." 

He  then  waited  for  a  favourable  opportunity. 

He  had,  one  day  when  meat  was  served  to  him,  abstracted 
the  knife  and  hidden  it  in  his  stocking.  The  monks,  when 
they  removed  the  tray,  did  not  notice  that  anything  was 
missing,  but  he  observed  that  on  the  following  day  they 
carefully  felt  the  mattress.  By  this  he  guessed  that  the 
loss  of  the  knife  had  not  been  discovered  till  that  morning. 
The  monks,  fearing  that  they  would  be  blamed  for  careless- 
ness, had  very  likely  protested  that  they  had  brought  it  as 
usual  into  the  kitchen  with  the  tray;  and  had  only  for  their 
own  satisfaction  looked  to  see  if  it  were  hidden  there.  Ar- 
thur had  taken  it  without  any  definite  view  of  using  it ;  but 
he  thought  that  if  this  attempt  to  obtain  succour  failed,  it 
might  come  in  useful  in  any  future  plan  he  might  devise. 

Next  day,  when  the  attendant  monks  were  bending  to 
place  his  basin  and  tray  on  the  floor,  he  suddenly  rushed  at 
them  and  hurled  them  both  to  the  ground.  Then  he  hur- 
ried out  of  the  cell. 

Four  monks  were  standing  in  the  passage.  Running  at 
full  speed  he  dashed  at  them.  Two  of  them  were  levelled 
to  the  ground;  he  cast  the  other  two  aside,  and  ran  on.  At 


296  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

the  end  of  the  passage  was  a  staircase.  Up  this  he  darted, 
and  found  himself  in  a  corridor  similar  to  that  below.  A 
number  of  doors  opened  from  it.  He  turned  the  handle  of 
one  of  these,  ran  across  the  room  to  the  window,  pushed  his 
hands  through  the  bars,  and  dropped  the  note.  A  moment 
later  he  heard  a  bell  ring  loudly  and  sharply.  Doubtless  one 
of  the  men  he  had  overthrown  had  at  once  run  to  it,  and 
was  giving  the  alarm,  which  would  send  all  the  monks  to 
the  entrance.  He  had  done  what  he  had  to  do,  so  he  walked 
quietly  down-stairs  again.  Five  of  the  monks  were  hud- 
dled in  the  passage,  and  at  his  approach  they  took  to  head- 
long flight.  With  a  laugh  Arthur  entered  his  cell  and  sat 
down.  Presently  a  terrified  face  appeared  at  the  door  and 
looked  in. 

"Come  in,"  Arthur  said  cheerfully.  "I  trust  I  did  not 
hurt  any  of  you.  I  merely  wished  to  see  whether  my  mus- 
cles were  in  working  order.  I  find  that  they  are  quite  right, 
thank  you,  and  having  ascertained  that,  have  come  back  to 
my  cell.  You  can,  if  you  like,  shut  the  door  again,  for  this 
room  is  rather  draughty  when  it  is  open." 

The  door  was  immediately  shut,  and  the  bolts  shot.  Ar- 
thur wondered  what  the  next  move  would  be.  No  one  came 
near  him  for  two  hours;  then  to  his  surprise  he  heard  a 
grinding  sound  against  the  door,  and  half  a  minute  later 
the  head  of  an  auger  appeared.  Another  hole  was  made 
touching  the  first,  then  a  fine  saw  was  thrust  through.  This 
began  to  work,  and  presently  a  piece  was  cut  out  of  the  door 
some  six  inches  wide  and  eighteen  inches  long.  After  a 
pause  the  piece  was  fitted  in  again.  Next  he  heard  a  sound 
of  screws  being  driven  in,  and  then  he  saw  that  hinges  had 
been  fastened  to  the  flap,  so  that  it  could  be  opened  and 
closed  from  the  other  side  at  will.  Then  he  heard  two  .bolts 
fixed  to  it.  The  noise  went  on  for  some  time,  and  he  knew 
by  the  sound  that  two  more  bolts  had  been  screwed  on  to 
the  door  itself. 

He  saw  at  once  that  the  monks  intended  in  future  to  pass 


KIDNAPPED 

his  food  in  to  him,  instead  of  entering  his  cell.  This  proved 
to  be  the  case.  The  flap  was  opened  and  his  tray  handed  in, 
together  with  a  basin  of  water.  "  They  are  determined  that 
the  monks  shall  not  be  exposed  to  assault  and  battery  again," 
he  laughed.  "  I  have  evidently  given  them  a  scare.  Now, 
I  have  nothing  to  do  but  wait  and  see  if  anything  comes  of 
my  note." 

A  fortnight  of  anxious  waiting  passed.  His  food,  books, 
and  water  were  handed  in  regularly,  but  no  one  entered  his 
cell.  He  listened  anxiously  whenever  he  heard  the  slightest 
stir  in  the  monastery  that  would  tell  him  that  search  was 
being  made,  but  no  such  sound  met  his  ear.  At  last  he 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  his  note  could  never  have 
reached  Leon's  hands.  Being  but  a  scrap  of  paper,  it  might 
have  escaped  the  eyes  of  passers-by  and  been  trodden  in  the 
mud,  or  again,  the  prior  might  at  once  have  suspected  the 
reason  of  his  strange  conduct  and  despatched  a  monk  to 
pick  up  the  note.  Several  times  he  wrote  the  same  message 
on  pieces  of  paper,  rolled  them  up  into  a  small  ball,  and  threw 
them  through  the  window  in  the  hope  that  some  passer-by 
might  be  attracted  by  the  sight  of  the  pellet,  and  open  it  to 
see  what  was  in  it. 

Till  the  end  of  a  fortnight  he  remained  patient,  spending 
most  of  his  time  in  reading ;  but  when  he  finally  determined 
that  the  letter  had  gone  astray,  he  threw  aside  his  books  and 
decided  that  he  must  rely  upon  himself.  It  was  evident  that 
if  he  was  to  escape  at  all,  it  must  be  through  the  wall  under 
the  window.  He  had  read  of  escapes  by  prisoners,  and  some 
of  these  had  been  performed  in  circumstances  at  least  as 
difficult  as  those  that  confronted  him,  and  with  means  no 
better  than  the  knife  he  had  in  his  possession.  Much  must, 
of  course,  depend  upon  the  thickness  of  the  wall  and  the  ma- 
terials of  which  it  was  built.  He  could  see  by  the  window 
that  it  must  be  at  least  two  feet  thick,  and  if  constructed  of 
solid  blocks  of  stone  there  would  be  no  possibility  of  getting 
them  out,  as  his  knife  was  but  some  six  inches  long  in  the 


298  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

blade,  so  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  wear  the  wall  away 
into  dust.  Of  course,  if  there  were  no  other  way,  this  is 
what  he  must  attempt. 

But  for  the  precaution  that  had  been  taken  to  prevent  his 
escape,  this  would  not  have  been  possible,  for  the  monks, 
when  they  came  in,  could  not  have  failed  to  notice  the 
gradual  crumbling  away  of  the  wall.  There  was,  however, 
one  other  chance.  As  this  was  a  subterranean,  or  almost 
subterranean  room,  there  was  not  likely  to  be  a  vault  under 
it ;  therefore  it  was  probable  that  the  wall  was  not  continued 
far  under  the  bottom  of  his  cell.  It  might  be  one  foot,  it 
might  be  two,  but  the  solid  stonework  would  not  go  much 
deeper;  it  would  rest  upon  a  bed  of  concrete,  or  possibly  of 
loose  rubble.  Once  through  that,  he  would  probably  find 
nothing  but  earth  between  him  and  the  pavement  above. 
These  pavements  were  in  most  of  the  side  streets  mere  cobble 
stones.  He  therefore  set  to  work  now  to  examine  the  stones 
forming  the  floor.  They  were  about  two  feet  square,  and 
after  some  consideration  he  determined  that  the  best  to  op- 
erate upon  would  be  that  at  the  foot  of  his  bed,  as  this  would 
be  hidden  from  the  sight  of  anyone  looking  through  the 
trap.  His  greatest  difficulty  would  be  to  get  rid  of  the  ma- 
terials that  must  necessarily  be  removed.  Stones  he  might 
manage  to  clear  out  by  throwing  them  through  the  window 
with  sufficient  force  to  carry  them  across  the  street;  earth, 
he  finally  concluded,  he  would  have  to  dispose  of  in  the  same 
way. 

In  order  to  do  this,  however,  he  would  have  to  reach  the 
window.  Of  course,  if  he  were  certain  that  the  cell  would 
never  be  entered,  he  could  pile  it  up  against  the  wall  to  the 
right  and  left  of  the  door,  for  the  hole  was  too  narrow  to 
admit  a  head.  However,  this  was  a  risk  that  he  would  not 
like  to  run.  The  excavation  would  occupy  many  weeks,  pos- 
sibly many  months,  and  it  was  hardly  likely  that  so  long  a 
time  would  elapse  before  a  visit  was  made  to  his  cell.  After 
much  thinking  he  concluded  that  if  he  took  up  two  of  the 


KIDNAPPED  299 

slabs,  and  placed  one  against  the  wall  and  the  other  upon  it, 
he  could  just  reach  the  window.  Then,  by  fastening  the  end 
of  a  blanket  to  one  of  the  bars,  he  could  easily  pull  himself 
up  by  it,  and  throw  the  mould  outside. 

This  was  certain  to  be  slow  work,  and  a  few  handfuls  of 
soil  scattered  on  the  road  would  not  be  likely  to  attract  any 
attention.  Examining  the  floor  carefully,  he  saw  that  the 
slabs  of  stone  were  by  no  means  even,  from  which  he  con- 
cluded that  they  were  not  laid  in  cement,  probably  not  even 
in  concrete,  but  that  the  ground  had  been  simply  smoothed 
down  and  the  flags  laid  on  it,  and  perhaps  hammered  down. 
The  cells  had  probably  not  been  intended  as  living  rooms, 
but  were  used  as  prisons,  perhaps  as  far  back  as  the  days  of 
the  Inquisition. 

Having  once  made  up  his  mind  and  carefully  examined  the 
stones,  Arthur  lay  down  on  the  floor  and  prepared  to  act. 
He  had  just  finished  his  breakfast  and  handed  out  the  tray 
as  usual,  so  he  would  not  be  disturbed  again  for  at  least  four 
hours.  He  began  with  his  knife  to  loosen  the  stone  at  the 
foot  of  his  bed,  which  was  on  the  left-hand  side  of  the  cell, 
and  found  to  his  satisfaction  that  the  slabs  were  laid  close 
together,  but  not  so  closely  that  the  knife  would  not  in  most 
places  go  down  between  them. 

The  crevices  were  filled  up  with  the  dust  of  many  years, 
and  it  took  him  till  dinner-time  to  clear  this  out.  He  was 
gratified  at  finding,  however,  that  while  in  some  places  his 
knife  encountered  stones  when  he  thrust  it  deep,  at  other 
points  he  could  push  it  down  to  the  hilt  without  encountering 
any  obstacle.  This  showed  him  that  his  conjecture  was  cor- 
rect. The  ground  had  simply  been  smoothed  down,  chips 
of  stone  from  the  building  thrown  upon  it  and  mixed  with 
the  sand,  and  on  this  the  paving  had  been  laid  down.  Be- 
yond the  fact  that  his  knife  went  lower  than  the  bottom  of 
the  stone,  he  could  not  tell  how  thick  the  floor  was,  but  he 
judged  that  it  would  probably  be  three  or  four  inches.  It 
was  evident  that  he  could  not  get  this  up  by  the  mere  lever- 


300  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

age  of  the  knife,  and  he  would  only  break  the  tool  if  he 
attempted  it. 

This  he  had  expected  would  be  the  case,  and  after  the 
dinner  interval  he  began  what  he  knew  would  be  one  of  the 
most  tedious  parts  of  the  undertaking.  It  was  necessary 
that  he  should  scrape  away  part  of  the  stone  in  order  to  get 
his  fingers  under.  His  pocket-knife  was  evidently  a  better 
tool  for  this  than  the  dinner  knife  he  had  hitherto  used. 
The  slab,  so  far  as  he  could  make  out,  was  a  sandstone,  but 
how  hard  he  could  not  tell.  He  began  by  dipping  his  hand- 
kerchief into  his  basin  and  letting  fall  a  few  drops  at  the 
place  upon  which  he  intended  to  operate,  namely,  next  his 
bed.  He  started  very  carefully,  giving  a  sort  of  rotatory 
motion  to  his  knife.  Gradually  the  water  he  had  dropped 
there  became  a  little  turbid;  this  afforded  him  some  encour- 
agement, and  he  worked  steadily  on  till  evening,  by  which 
time  he  had  succeeded  in  removing  a  piece  of  the  stone  an 
eighth  of  an  inch  deep. 

After  supper  he  began  again,  and  continued  the  work  far 
into  the  night,  for  he  was  always  furnished  with  a  lamp.  At 
last  he  had  increased  the  hole  to  a  depth  of  fully  a  quarter 
of  an  inch,  and  a  width  equal  to  that  of  his  four  fingers. 
Well  satisfied  with  this  result,  he  threw  himself  on  his  pallet 
and  slept  soundly  until  the  flap  was  opened  and  his  break- 
fast tray  thrust  in.  As  soon  as  he  had  finished  his  break- 
fast he  set  to  work  again,  this  time  using  the  knife  that  had 
been  handed  in  with  his  breakfast,  and  which  would  not  be 
demanded  of  him  until  he  returned  the  tray  when  he  re- 
ceived his  dinner.  He  was  glad  to  make  the  change,  for  his 
hands  were  blistered  badly  by  the  previous  day's  work,  and 
the  smoothness  of  the  dinner  knife  was  a  relief  to  him;  be- 
sides, he  saw  that  he  had  already  worn  away  the  point  of  his 
pocket-knife. 

After  a  fortnight's  steady  work,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of 
feeling  the  knife  go  through.  In  two  more  days  he  was 
able  to  get  his  hand  in.  He  now  cleared  out  some  of  the 


ESCAPED  301 

earth  at  the  bottom,  and  then  putting  his  hand  below  the 
stone,  exerted  his  strength  to  the  utmost,  and  was  delighted 
to  find  that  it  yielded.  He  laid  it  down  and  executed  a 
dance  of  triumph,  which  would  have  astonished  the  monks 
had  they  looked  in. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

ESCAPED 

IT  was  evening  when  Arthur  got  up  the  stone,  so  he  put 
it  into  its  place  again  after  his  delight  had  a  little  sub- 
sided, rubbed  some  dust  into  the  crevices,  and  then  flung 
himself  down  for  a  long  night's  sleep.  The  next  morning 
after  breakfast  he  set  to  work  to  remove  the  dust  round  the 
next  stone.  When  he  had  done  this,  he  made  a  hole  under 
it  with  his  fingers  even  more  easily  than  in  the  case  of  the 
first.  He  then  replaced  it,  and  waited  until  his  dinner  had 
been  handed  in.  Having  eaten  this,  he  took  up  the  two 
stones  again,  laid  one  upright  against  the  wall  under  the 
window,  placed  the  other  on  the  top  of  it,  then  took  a  run- 
ning jump  on  to  this,  at  the  same  moment  stretching  his 
arm  as  high  up  above  his  head  as  he  could.  To  his  delight 
he  found  that  he  was  able  to  grasp  one  of  the  bars.  He  got 
down,  took  one  of  the  blankets,  and  again  leaping  up,  passed 
an  end  round  the  bar  and  managed  to  grasp  it  before  he  fell 
backwards. 

This  pulled  the  blanket  half-way  round  the  bar.  He 
caught  hold  of  both  parts  when  he  next  sprang  up,  and  was 
able  without  difficulty  to  raise  himself  until  his  face  was 
level  with  the  window.  The  look-out  was  better  than  he  had 
expected.  In  front  of  him  was  a  street,  but  on  the  other 
side  was  a  piece  of  waste  ground.  Nothing  could  have  been 


302  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

handier  for  his  purpose,  as  the  stones  and  earth  thrown  on 
to  this  would  certainly  attract  no  notice.  Having  taken  a 
good  look  he  lowered  himself  to  the  floor,  relaid  the  second 
stone  he  had  raised,  and  put  the  other  alongside  it  so  that 
he  could  replace  it  in  an 'instant  if  he  should  hear  footsteps 
coming  down  the  passage.  Then  he  took  the  mattress  and 
bedding  off  the  bench,  for  he  resolved  to  spread  upon  the 
bed  all  the  earth  and  rubble  he  got  out  during  the  day,  as  it 
would  be  dangerous  to  throw  it  out  until  dark. 

After  this  he  set  to  work  with  the  dinner  knife,  and  it 
was  not  long  before  he  had  loosened  the  earth  and  rubble 
some  inches  deep.  This  he  removed,  and  by  night  had  ex- 
cavated a  hole  two  feet  deep,  spreading  the  rubbish  care- 
fully, as  he  got  it  out,  on  the  bed.  He  had  not  made  the 
hole  quite  so  wide  as  the  stone,  in  order  that  this  might  have 
a  support  when  it  was  replaced.  Then  he  hung  up  one 
blanket  as  before,  and  placed  a  considerable  quantity  of  the 
earth  in  the  other  blanket  and  hauled  this  up  to  the  window, 
so  as  to  save  himself  the  labour  of  climbing  up  afresh  with 
each  handful.  Listening  attentively,  so  as  to  be  sure  that 
no  one  was  coming  along,  he  flung  it  with  all  his  force 
through  the  window.  When  he  had  disposed  of  all  he  had 
brought  up  he  filled  the  blanket  again,  and  so  continued  until 
he  had  thrown  out  the  whole. 

On  the  following  day  he  not  only  got  out  the  earth  to  a 
greater  depth,  but  was  able  to  push  the  trench  under  the 
adjoining  slab,  which  was  in  contact  with  the  wall.  He  got 
rid  of  the  earth  and  stones  as  before.  Next  morning  he 
worked  with  renewed  vigour,  for  the  result  of  the  day's  la- 
bour would  be  to  show  whether  the  stone-work  was  carried 
down  below  the  level  of  the  floor,  or  whether  the  wall  rested 
upon  concrete.  The  third  slab  came  up  without  difficulty, 
and  digging  down  by  the  wall,  to  his  great  satisfaction  he 
found  that  it  rested  on  a  foundation  of  coarse  concrete, 
which  would  no  doubt  be  troublesome,  but  by  no  means  im- 
pervious. He  soon  cleared  out  the  earth  and  rubble  to  the 


ESCAPED  303 

same  level  as  the  other  part  of  the  trench,  and  after  spread- 
ing it  as  usual  under  his  mattress,  he  began  the  important 
task  of  picking  out  the  concrete. 

He  had  not  been  at  work  long  before  he  found  that  in 
order  to  get  room  to  use  both  arms  he  must  widen  it  out  at 
the  end  against  the  wall.  This  caused  a  whole  day's  delay. 
The  cutting  of  the  concrete  was  toilsome,  and  it  took  a  week 
of  almost  incessant  labour  to  make  a  passage  sufficiently 
large  for  him  to  crawl  through.  Having  ascertained  that,  as 
he  had  expected,  the  ground  beyond  this  was  composed  of 
mixed  soil,  as  that  within  the  wall  had  been,  with  fragments 
of  stone,  he  gave  himself  a  day's  rest  before  proceeding  fur- 
ther. It  was  now  six  weeks  since  his  imprisonment  began, 
and  he  felt  sure  that  it  would  require  only  three  or  four 
days'  more  work  to  get  to  the  surface  outside. 

He  wondered  what  his  friends  had  been  doing,  and  wor- 
ried greatly  about  the  anxiety  that  Mercedes  would  have 
experienced.  This  thought  indeed  had  frequently  kept  him 
to  his  work  when  he  would  otherwise  have  desisted,  from  the 
fatigue  he  felt  in  working  in  the  cramped  position  which  was 
necessary  while  getting  through  the  concrete.  Roper,  too, 
would  be  in  a  terrible  way,  and  Leon  would  be  moving 
heaven  and  earth  to  find  some  clue  to  his  fate.  He  won- 
dered what  they  had  been  doing,  and  in  what  direction  they 
had  been  searching,  for  he  would  have  disappeared  as  sud- 
denly as  if  the  earth  had  opened  and  swallowed  him,  without 
leaving  a  single  clue. 

One  thing  was  certain:  suspicion  would  fall  upon  Don 
Silvio.  Leon  would  probably  lay  the  case  before  the  queen 
regent,  and  Don  Silvio  might  not  impossibly  be  arrested  on 
the  charge  of  being  concerned  in  his  disappearance.  He 
could  not  help  believing  that  this  man  was  at  the  bottom 
of  it,  for  think  how  he  would,  no  other  reason  for  his  seizure 
presented  itself.  Ostensibly  he  had  been  imprisoned  in  order 
that  his  connection  with  Mercedes  might  be  broken  off,  in 
which  case  she  might  enter  a  convent,  to  the  great  advantage 


304  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

of  its  revenues.  But  the  knowledge  that  there  was  an  en- 
gagement between  them  was  at  present  confined  to  Leon  and 
his  sisters,  for  it  had  been  agreed  that  it  would  be  much 
better  to  keep  it  quiet  until  the  time  approached  for  their 
marriage,  as  Leon  felt  that  the  Church  would  use  every 
effort  to  prevent  this  from  taking  place. 

Mercedes  might  indeed  have  spoken  of  it  in  confession, 
but  it  was  far  more  likely  that  Count  Silvio,  whose  jealousy 
had  been  clearly  aroused,  and  who  hated  him  for  the  result 
of  the  duel,  had  set  the  Church  authorities  to  work.  It  was 
not  probable  that  the  prior  of  the  monastery  had  acted  on  his 
own  responsibility.  It  was  not  a  monastery  that  would 
benefit  by  Mercedes'  fortune,  and  mere  zeal  would  scarcely 
have  prompted  the  prior  to  take  so  strong  a  step  as  to  have 
him  carried  off;  doubtless,  therefore,  he  was  acting  under 
superior  authority.  Although  the  Inquisition  had  died  out, 
and  heretics  could  no  longer  be  tortured  or  brought  to  the 
stake,  the  Roman  Church  in  Spain  was  still  almost  as  big- 
oted as  in  the  olden  days,  and  would  assuredly  not  hesitate 
to  take  steps  to  prevent  what  would  be  considered  as  the 
backsliding  of  one  of  its  faith.  Knowing  the  enormous  in- 
fluence the  priests  still  exercised,  the  measure  that  had  been 
taken  with  reference  to  himself  scarcely  seemed  extraordi- 
nary to  Arthur,  and  he  resented  it  rather  because  he  believed 
that  Don  Silvio  was  at  the  bottom  of  it  than  on  account  of 
the  outrage  against  himself. 

After  a  rest  of  thirty-six  hours,  Arthur  set  to  work  as 
soon  as  he  had  eaten  his  supper.  The  lamp  contained  enough 
oil  to  burn  all  night,  and  it  was  only  by  its  light  that  he  was 
able  to  work.  Lying  on  his  stomach  in  the  hole  he  gradu- 
ally drove  the  tunnel  forward,  being  obliged  frequently  to 
come  out  with  the  earth  and  rubble  as  he  dug  it  down.  When 
he  had  got  two  feet  beyond  the  wall  he  turned  on  his  back 
and,  placing  the  lamp  on  his  chest,  began  to  bring  down  the 
earth  above  him.  Luckily  the  mould  was  firm  and  tightly 
packed,  for  while  there  was  thus  no  fear  of  sudden  falls  the 


ESCAPED  305 

walls  stood  upright  and  the  earth  dug  out  like  putty.  He 
had  not  the  trouble  of  taking  it  out;  as  it  fell  he  merely 
pushed  it  back  into  the  open  trench. 

By  morning  he  could  stand  upright  to  his  work.  As  the 
bottom  of  the  hole  was  two  feet  below  the  floor  he  was  now 
some  four  feet  above  it.  The  labour  had  been  very  great, 
and  although  he  had  worked  stripped  to  the  waist  he  had 
suffered  much  from  the  heat.  He  rubbed  himself  with  his 
blanket,  as  he  had  done  ever  since  he  began  the  work,  for 
had  he  washed  the  appearance  of  the  water  would  at  once 
have  aroused  suspicions  that  he  was  engaged  upon  work  of 
this  kind.  He  dressed  again,  and  was  ready  to  receive  his 
breakfast,  and  after  eating  this  he  went  soundly  to  sleep. 
He  could  scarce  rouse  himself  sufficiently  to  get  up  and 
take  in  his  dinner  when  it  came,  and  putting  the  tray  down 
he 'at  once  went  off  to  sleep  again.  At  five  o'clock  he  woke 
and  ate  his  dinner,  and  when  his  supper  arrived  he  put  that 
by  till  midnight. 

He  now  set  to  work  with  renewed  vigour,  for  if  all  went 
well  he  should  be  free  by  morning.  He  put  two  of  the  pav- 
ing stones  against  the  sides  of  his  shaft,  and  standing  upon 
these  was  able  to  bring  down  the  earth  rapidly.  When  he 
had  dug  two  feet  higher  he  trod  the  earth  that  had  fallen 
firmly  down,  and  placing  the  stones  on  these,  again  mounted 
on  them.  By  twelve  o'clock  he  could  no  longer  reach  over- 
head, and  measuring  from  the  level  of  the  floor  of  the  cell, 
found  that  the  cavity  was  now  seven  feet  above  it.  He  now 
pulled  out  the  paving  stones,  and  set  to  work  to  dig  some 
holes  on  each  side  of  the  shaft,  in  which  he  could  place  his 
feet.  Having  gained  another  foot  by  this  means  he  went 
out,  ate  his  supper,  and  dressed  himself. 

He  was  certain  now  that  he  should  be  out  before  day- 
break. Again  he  set  to  work.  The  earth  came  down  fast 
under  the  strokes  of  his  knife.  At  last,  about  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  the  blade  struck  against  a  stone.  This  he 
felt  was  round,  and  differed  altogether  from  those  he  had 


306  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

met  with  embedded  in  the  earth.  Gradually  he  cleared  the 
space  beneath  it,  and  then  found  that  a  layer  of  stones 
closely  packed  together  formed  the  ceiling  of  his  shaft.  He 
worked  with  renewed  energy  until  the  whole  of  the  earth 
beneath  was  cleared  away,  then  he  dug  two  more  foot-holes 
two  feet  higher  than  those  he  had  last  rested  on.  Taking  his 
place  in  these,  he  pushed  with  all  his  force  with  both  hands. 
The  stones  gave  way  at  once,  and  his  hands  were  in  the 
air.  In  another  minute  the  rest  were  cleared  off,  and  put- 
ting his  hands  on  the  edge  of  the  hole  he  hauled  himself  up 
and  was  a  free  man. 

In  the  joy  of  his  heart  he  set  off  to  run,  but  presently 
steadied  down  into  a  walk.  It  was  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
before  he  came  upon  a  church  familiar  to  him,  and  he  was 
then  able  to  direct  his  course  to  his  lodgings.  He  had  a  key 
of  the  outer  door,  and  opening  this,  he  felt  his  way  up  the 
stairs  until  he  reached  his  door.  Another  key  gave  him  ad- 
mittance here.  Opening  the  door  of  the  sitting-room,  he 
felt  his  way  to  the  mantel.  Here  were  always  placed  a  flint 
and  steel  and  a  bundle  of  slips  of  rag  dipped  in  sulphur,  for 
although  phosphorus  matches  were  rapidly  making  their  way 
in  England,  they  were  as  yet  unknown  in  Madrid.  At  the 
first  blow  of  the  flint  against  the  steel  he  heard  a  movement 
in  the  next  room,  and  as  the  sparks  flew  on  to  the  tinder  by 
the  stroke,  he  heard  Koper  exclaim  "Who  is  that?"  as  he 
jumped  out  of  bed. 

"It  is  I,  Koper!" 

There  was  a  perfect  shout  of  joy,  and  then  he  heard  the 
honest  fellow  burst  into  a  fit  of  hysterical  sobbing.  A  mo- 
ment later  the  sulphur  ignited  the  tinder,  and  he  lighted  a 
candle.  The  door  of  Roper's  bedroom  was  open,  and  Arthur 
saw  that  he  had  sunk  back  on  to  his  bed  again  with  his 
hands  before  his  face.  He  went  in  to  him  and  put  his  hand 
upon  his  shoulder. 

"  Roper,  old  friend,"  he  said,  "  compose  yourself.  Thank 
God,  I  am  back  again  safe  and  sound ! " 


ESCAPED  307 

"  The  Lord  be  praised !  "  Roper  said,  as,  brushing  his  tears 
aside,  he  stood  up  and  grasped  Arthur's  hands.  "  It  is  al- 
most as  if  you  had  come  back  from  the  dead,  sir.  I  have 
kept  on  saying  you  would  return,  though  I  knew  in  my  heart 
that  I  had  lost  all  hope.  Why,"  he  said,  as  they  went  back 
to  the  light,  "you  are  as  black  as  a  coal.  What  has  hap- 
pened to  you  ? " 

"  It  is  only  honest  dirt,  Roper.  I  will  go  and  have  a 
thorough  wash,  then  I  will  tell  you  about  it ; "  and  he  went 
into  his  own  room,  which  opened  on  the  other  side  of  the 
sitting-room.  By  the  time  he  came  back  Roper  had  lighted 
three  more  candles,  had  partly  dressed  himself,  and  had  got 
out  a  bottle  of  wine  and  a  glass. 

"  Get  out  another  glass,  Roper,  and  light  the  fire,  then  we 
will  sit  down  and  talk  it  all  over.  By  the  way,  if  you  have 
anything  to  eat  you  may  as  well  put  it  on  the  table.  It  is 
five  hours  since  I  have  had  supper,  and  I  have  been  doing 
some  hard  work  since." 

Roper  hurried  away  to  get  the  things  together  while  Ar- 
thur changed  his  clothes  entirely.  Two  or  three  shirts  had 
been  handed  in  each  week  to  him  while  he  was  confined  in 
his  prison,  but  he  was  glad  enough  of  a  complete  change. 

"  Now,  Roper,"  he  said,  as  he  sat  down,  "  we  will  eat  and 
talk.  In  the  first  place,  tell  me  about  my  friends." 

"  The  count  has  been  looking  for  you  everywhere,  sir.  He 
has  had  the  whole  police  in  search  of  you.  They  have  got 
Don  Silvio  under  arrest,  but  they  cannot  find  out  that  he  was 
concerned  in  your  disappearance,  though  nobody  has  any 
doubt  about  it.  Miss  Mercedes  has  been  ill.  She  was,  I  was 
told,  in  bed  for  a  month;  she  is  up  now,  but,  as  the  servants 
tell  me,  looking  like  a  ghost.  However,  I  have  no  doubt  she 
will  soon  get  round,  now  that  you  are  back. 

"  The  difficulty  has  been  to  know  where  to  start  looking 
for  you.  No  one  has  seen  you  since  you  left  this  house 
one  morning,  some  two  months  ago,  shortly  after  breakfast. 
From  that  time  you  had  disappeared  as  if  the  earth  had 


308  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

swallowed  you  up.  I  always  said,  '  The  captain  will  come 
back  if  he  is  alive— bolts  and  bars  won't  hold  him.'  And  I 
really  believed  so  for  three  or  four  weeks;  but  when  time 
went  on  and  there  were  no  signs  of  you,  I  began  to  think 
that  you  must  have  gone  under.  If  you  had,  I  knew  it  must 
have  been  directly  you  were  taken,  for  before  two  days  had 
passed  Don  Silvio  had  been  caught.  He  was  down  at  his 
place  in  the  country,  and  was  able  to  prove  that  he  was  there 
at  the  date  of  your  capture.  Well,  they  kept  him  under 
arrest,  thinking  that  if  you  did  come  back  you  would  be  able 
to  prove  that  he  had  a  hand  in  it  somehow." 

"I  believe  he  had,  Koper,  though  I  may  say  I  have  no 
shadow  of  proof.  Now,  I  will  tell  you  all  about  it ; "  and 
he  went  into  a  full  history  of  his  capture,  of  his  imprison- 
ment, of  his  interview  with  the  prior,  and  of  the  manner  in 
which  he  had  made  his  escape. 

"  You  have  done  well  indeed,  sir,  to  get  out  of  that  place 
as  you  did!  If  I  had  been  there,  I  should  never  have  come 
out  again  alive.  Lord,  how  you  must  have  worked!  So 
the  priests  were  at  the  bottom  of  it  after  all  ? " 

"  Not  quite  at  the  bottom ;  for  I  have  no  doubt  whatever 
that  Don  Silvio  put  them  up  to  it.  No  doubt  he  said  to 
them :  '  Here  is  a  young  lady  of  noble  family  with  a  fine  in- 
come. She  wants  to  throw  herself  away  on  a  Protestant 
and  a  foreigner;  if  you  can  manage  to  keep  him  away  from 
her,  she  is  pretty  sure  to  go  into  a  convent.  She  said,  when 
she  threw  me  over  a  year  and  a  half  ago,  that  it  was  her 
intention  not  to  marry,  but  to  lead  a  religious  life;  there- 
fore if  you  get  her  lover  removed  now,  no  doubt  she  will  do 
so/  You  see,  there  were  two  motives  for  getting  me  shut 
up — one  to  avoid  the  grievous  scandal  of  a  Catholic  lady 
of  good  family  marrying  a  heretic,  and  the  second,  that  of 
getting  possession  of  her  dowry.  Well,  thank  goodness,  I 
have  baulked  them !  Has  Colonel  Wylde  been  here  ?  " 

"No,  sir;  he  has  been  up  in  the  north  ever  since  you  dis- 
appeared." 


A    TALL    MAN    WITH    A    HARSH,    ASCETIC    FACE    ENTERED 


ESCAPED  309 

"'  Has  there  been  much  fighting  there  ? " 

"  None  at  all.  Maroto  turned  traitor  and  sold  Don  Carlos. 
He  surrendered  on  condition  of  a  big  grant  of  money.  His 
army  dispersed,  and  Don  Carlos  has  crossed  the  frontier." 

"And  Espartero?" 

"He  has  been  made  Duke  of  Vittoria,  and  is  still  in  the 
north  settling  things.  In  the  east  there  has  been  fighting, 
but  only  small  affairs,  so  you  have  not  lost  anything  that 
way." 

It  was  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  before  Arthur  had 
brought  his  story  to  a  close,  and  he  now  said:  "You  had 
better  go  at  once  across  to  Count  Leon's — I  dare  say  he  will 
be  up  by  this  time.  Take  him  aside  quietly,  and  tell  him  that 
I  am  here,  and  that  I  leave  it  to  him  to  break  the  news  to 
his  sister  as  he  thinks  best.  When  he  has  done  so,  I  will,  of 
course,  go  round  and  see  her." 

Roper  returned  in  half  an  hour  with  the  count. 

"My  dear  Arthur!  My  dear  Arthur!"  the  latter  ex- 
claimed, as  he  ran  into  the  room  and  embraced  his  friend. 
"  Thank  God  that  you  are  back  again !  I  had  given  up  all 
hope,  and  had  no  question  at  all  in  my  mind  that  you  had 
been  murdered  quietly  by  the  orders  of  Don  Silvio,  and  been 
buried  in  some  obscure  spot  where  your  body  would  never  be 
found.  I  could  not  at  first  believe  what  your  man  told  me 
half  an  hour  ago.  I  fancy  I  took  him  by  the  shoulders  and 
shook  him,  and  told  him  he  was  either  mad  or  a  liar.  At 
last  I  was  convinced  that  he  was  sane,  and  we  hurried  off  to- 
gether. We  came  too  fast  for  talk,  but  I  gathered  from 
him  that  you  had  been  confined  in  a  monastery." 

"Yes,  Leon;  and  except  that  I  was  kept  a  solitary  pris- 
oner in  a  cell,  I  had  nothing  much  to  complain  of.  I  was 
frankly  told  by  the  prior  that  I  should  remain  there,  how- 
ever long  a  time  it  might  be,  until  Mercedes  had  taken  the 
veil." 

"  The  rascal !  "  Leon  said  wrathf ully.  "  That  is  just  what 
we  feared,  or  at  least  something  like  it,  when  we  agreed  that 


310  WITH    THE    BRITISH 

your  engagement  to  her  had  better  be  kept  private  for  a 
time.  Not,  of  course,  that  I  ever  dreamt  that  they  would 
attempt  to  carry  you  off,  but  I  knew  that  they  would  move 
heaven  and  earth  to  break  off  the  match.  Now,  please  tell 
me  all  about  it." 

Arthur  again  went  through  the  story,  and  gave  his  reasons 
for  believing  that  Don  Silvio  was  at  the  bottom  of  it. 

"  I  regard  that  as  certain,"  Leon  said ;  "  but  that  does  not 
alter  the  facts.  I  shall  have  to  take  every  care  of  Mercedes ; 
they  may  try  to  suppress  her  as  they  have  tried  to  suppress 
you.  I  have  seen  Queen  Christina  several  time,  and  she  is 
intensely  interested  in  your  case.  We  must  go  and  see  her 
this  afternoon,  and  lay  all  the  facts  before  her,  and  I  shall 
ask  her  to  take  Mercedes  under  her  protection,  which  I  am 
sure  she  will  do.  Even  the  Church  would  not  venture  to 
drag  her  from  the  palace.  As  to  your  affair,  it  will  require 
a  good  deal  of  talking  over.  Of  course,  if  you  report  what 
has  happened  to  your  government  they  will  kick  up  a  tre- 
mendous row  about  it,  but  I  don't  know  that  that  would  be 
of  any  advantage  either  to  her  or  to  us." 

"No,  I  can  quite  understand  that,  Leon;  and  it  is  the 
last  thing  I  should  wish  to  do.  As  you  say,  it  will  require 
a  lot  of  thinking  about  and  talking  over;  but  at  the  first 
blush  it  certainly  seems  to  me  that,  now  that  I  have  got 
away  without  further  damage  or  injury  than  being  shut 
up  for  a  couple  of  months,  the  best  policy  is  to  say  nothing 
about  it;  but,  of  course,  we  shall  have  to  consider  whether 
there  will  be  any  repetition  of  it,  and  still  more,  whether 
your  sister  is  likely  to  suffer  any  persecution  or  to  incur 
any  risk  of  being  kidnapped.  Of  course  you  have  not  told 
her  yet  that  I  have  turned  up  again  ? " 

"  No.  She  does  not  get  up  till  ten  o'clock,  and  I  thought 
it  as  well  not  to  disturb  her;  besides,  I  really  knew  nothing 
about  it  myself  beyond  the  fact  that  you  had  reappeared, 
and  even  of  that  I  felt  scarcely  assured  until  I  saw  you 
myself,  for  I  had  not  entertained  a  shadow  of  hope  that  you 


ESCAPED  311 

were  alive.  I  will  go  and  break  the  news  to  her  now.  You 
may  come  across  in  half  an  hour." 

"Very  well,  but  I  shall  not  expect  to  see  her;  perhaps 
I  had  better  not  see  her  at  all  to-day.  It  may  be  well  to 
break  it  to  her  very  gradually.  If  you  were  to  tell  her  that 
this  morning  you  had  obtained  a  clue,  and  thought  it  pos- 
sible that  I  had  been  carried  away  and  shut  up  in  a  monas- 
tery; then  this  afternoon  you  could  further  say  that  you 
believed  you  knew  which  monastery  it  was  in  which  I  was 
imprisoned,  and  that  you  intended  at  once  to  take  steps  to 
obtain  my  release;  then  either  this  evening  or  to-morrow 
morning  you  could  tell  her  the  truth,  and  take  me  in 
to  her." 

"  I  believe  that  would  be  the  best  plan,  Arthur.  She  has 
been  very  ill,  and  is  at  present  a  mere  ghost  of  herself;  but 
she  is  of  a  cheerful  disposition,  and  although  she  has  come 
to  despair  of  ever  seeing  you  again,  I  am  sure  that  she  would 
eagerly  grasp  at  any  shadow  of  hope,  and  once  she  has  you 
again  she  will  soon  pick  up." 

"  In  that  case  I  had  better  not  come  round  to  your  house, 
Leon." 

"  No,  I  think  not.  If  any  of  the  servants  were  to  see 
you  they  might,  in  spite  of  any  orders  that  I  might  issue, 
make  a  hash  of  it  in  some  way  or  other.  I  doubt  whether 
they  would  be  able  to  help  doing  so— by  their  looks  if  not 
by  their  tongues,  for  you  are  a  general  favourite  in  the 
house;  and  although  no  one  has  ever  been  told,  I  should 
think  that  many  must  have  some  idea  how  matters  stand 
between  you  and  Mercedes.  As  Colonel  Wylde  is  away,  there 
can  be  no  reason  for  your  leaving  the  house,  and  it  is  better 
that  you  should  not  do  so,  because  you  would  be  sure  to  meet 
somebody  who  would  know  you;  and  as  your  disappearance 
has  been  the  talk  of  the  town,  they  would  carry  the  news 
home  to  their  familes,  and  some  of  the  ladies  might  take  it 
across  to  Mercedes.  I  will  be  back  again  in  an  hour.  I  will 
come  round  in  my  carriage,  and  then  we  will  drive  together 


WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGIOtf 

to  the  palace.  To  prevent  any  possibility  of  someone  spread- 
ing the  news  from  there,  I  will  give  strict  orders  that  who- 
ever calls  to-day — no  matter  who  it  is — is  not  to  be  allowed 
to  see  my  sister.  Of  course,  I  shall  not  tell  either  of  the 
girls,  their  looks  would  let  the  secret  out  before  they  had 
been  with  her  for  two  minutes." 

Leon  was  back  in  the  course  of  an  hour.  "  I  have  admin- 
istered the  first  dose  of  hope,"  he  said,  "  and  the  effect  has 
been  wonderful.  Before  that  she  was  sitting  absolutely  list- 
less, taking  no  interest  whatever  in  anything  that  went  on 
around  her;  now  she  is  all  flushed  and  excited.  I  began  by 
saying  that  information  had  reached  me  that  led  me  to  be- 
lieve that  you  had  been  carried  to  a  monastery.  I  did  this 
very  gently,  and  in  a  roundabout  way,  but  she  leapt  to  her 
feet  with  her  eyes  blazing,  and  insisted  on  knowing  what 
were  the  grounds  of  my  belief.  I  was  obliged  to  tell  her 
that  I  knew  for  almost  a  certainty  that  on  the  evening  of 
the  day  on  which  you  disappeared,  monks  were  noticed  carry- 
ing a  litter  through  the  streets.  I  said  that  of  course  this 
might  mean  nothing,  but  that  it  was  certainly  singular,  and 
that  I  had  already  set  a  number  of  men  to  work  to  find  out 
where  the  monks  had  been  last  seen,  and  the  direction  in 
which  they  were  proceeding,  and  that  I  hoped  by  this  after- 
noon to  get  certain  news.  I  promised  her  that  I  would  let 
her  know  directly  I  did  so.  I  argued  that  four  monks  would 
hardly  be  carrying  a  dead  man,  nor  .could  I  see  any  reason 
why  they  should  be  carrying  a  living  one.  I  said  that  a 
cloth  had  been  thrown  over  the  litter,  and  that  no  one  could 
see  who  or  what  was  beneath  it.  I  left  her  walking  up  and 
down  the  room  in  a  state  of  great  agitation,  and  I  rather 
think  it  would  be  better  to  change  our  plans  and  let  her 
know  the  whole  truth  shortly." 

"  Perhaps  so,  Leon.  We  will  sit  here  for  another  half- 
hour,  and  then  you  can  go  in  and  break  the  news  to  her 
little  by  little,  till  at  last  you  can  tell  her  that  I  am  in 
the  house  waiting  to  see  her.  But  I  should  advise  you,  as 


ESCAPED  313 

we  go  along,  to  call  at  your  doctor's  and  take  him  with 
you,  in  case  the  shock  is  too  much  for  her." 

"  Perhaps  that  would  be  advisable,"  Leon  said ;  "  the  anxi- 
ety and  excitement  might  be  worse  for  her  than  the  sudden 
joy  would  be." 

Accordingly  they  drove  back  to  Leon's,  and  the  count  went 
into  his  sister's  room,  while  Arthur  went  into  the  drawing- 
room,  where  the  two  younger  girls  were  sitting.  These  leapt 
up  with  a  scream  as  he  entered,  and  looked  at  him  ,as  if 
doubting  the  evidence  of  their  senses.  He  held  up  his  hand. 
"  It  is  I  myself,"  he  said,  "  but  do  not  make  a  noise.  Your 
brother  has  gone  in  to  break  the  news  to  Mercedes."  Con- 
vinced that  their  eyes  had  not  deceived  them,  the  girls  ran 
forward  and  embraced  him  affectionately,  pouring  out  ques- 
tions as  to  where  he  had  been,  and  how  it  was  that  he  had 
returned. 

"It  is  a  long  story,"  he  said,  "and  I  cannot  tell  it  all 
now.  I  have  been  shut  up  to  prevent  me  from  marrying 
Mercedes,  and  I  have  managed  to  make  my  way  out  again; 
and  as  you  can  see  by  looking  at  my  hands,"  and  he  held 
them  out,  "I  have  done  a  lot  of  hard  work  in  breaking 
out." 

Both  girls  uttered  exclamations  at  the  blistered  state  of 
his  hands. 

"  They  are  nothing  to  what  they  were  after  the  first  four 
or  five  days'  work,"  he  said ;  "  they  really  were  bad  then. 
They  have  got  pretty  horny  now." 

"  But  who  could  have  wanted  to  interfere  between  you 
and  Mercedes?  No  one  has  any  right  to  interfere  with  her 
except  Leon." 

"  There  are  people  who  think  they  have  a  right  to  inter- 
fere," he  said,  "  and  do  interfere  in  most  matters  in  this 
country." 

"  You  look  very  white,  Arthur,"  the  elder  girl  said. 

"  Yes,  I  dare  say ;  I  have  been  two  months  in  a  cell  with 
very  little  light." 


314:  WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION" 

"  In  a  cell?  "  they  repeated. 

"Yes.  There  was  no  great  hardship  in  it.  I  had  books 
to  read  and  very  decent  food,  so  the  only  thing  I  had  to 
complain  of  was  my  loss  of  liberty." 

He  chatted  for  a  few  minutes  longer,  and  then  the  door 
opened  and  Leon  appeared  and  beckoned  to  Arthur  to  fol- 
low him.  "  She  knows  that  you  are  in  Madrid  and  free,  and 
that  you  will  be  here  in  a  few  minutes.  You  had  better  leave 
her  to  herself  for  a  little  while  to  get  calm.  Of  course,  she 
is  greatly  shaken,  but  she  stood  it  better  than  I  had  ex- 
pected when  I  went  in.  I  found  that  she  believed  I  had  not 
told  her  all,  and  was  prepared  to  find  that  I  had  really  got 
some  important  clue  as  to  your  whereabouts.  Of  course, 
that  made  it  easier  for  me  to  tell  her  the  truth  gradually." 

They  talked  for  a  short  time  and  then  Leon  went  out  of 
the  room,  and  a  minute  later  Mercedes  ran  in,  and  with  a 
cry  of  joy  rushed  into  Arthur's  arms.  Leon  came  in  ten 
minutes  later,  and  found  her  sitting  on  a  sofa  with  her  head 
on  Arthur's  shoulder. 

"  It  is  almost  worth  while  having  been  so  unhappy,  Leon," 
she  said,  "  to  feel  such  joy  as  I  do  now." 

"Well,  I  won't  say  that,  Mercedes;  at  the  same  time  I 
admit  that  it  is  very  joyful  to  have  him  back  again." 

"  I  know  nothing  yet,"  she  said,  "  of  what  has  happened, 
or  what  has  kept  him  away  from  us.  I  have  been  too  per- 
fectly happy  at  having  him  back  to  think  of  asking  what  he 
has  been  doing." 

"  He  has  been  shut  up  to  keep  him  away  from  you." 

"  To  keep  him  away  from  me  ? "  Mercedes  repeated. 

"Yes,  dear.  It  seems  that  it  occurred  to  some  of  the 
worthy  fathers  of  the  church  that  it  would  be  a  very  sinful 
thing  for  you  to  marry  a  heretic,  and  also  that  if  this  heretic 
were  to  disappear,  possibly  you  might  take  it  into  your  head 
to  enter  a  convent  and  bestow  your  wealth  upon  the  church. 
Accordingly  they  seized  him  and  put  him  into  a  cell  in  a 
monastery,  and  informed  him  that  he  would  have  to  re- 


ESCAPED  315 

main  there  until  you  had  entered  a  convent.  As  Arthur 
entertained  quite  different  views  he  set  to  work  to  escape 
from  his  cell,  and  after  six  weeks'  hard  digging  underground, 
he  this  morning  made  his  way  out,  and  here  he  is." 

"  Is  it  possible,"  the  girl  said,  standing  up  with  wide  open 
eyes,  "  that  it  was  the  church  that  took  Arthur  from  me  ?  " 

"Yes,  dear;  some  unworthy  members  of  the  church." 

"  Arthur,"  she  said,  "  when  we  are  married  and  you  take 
me  to  England,  you  shall  teach  me  what  your  church  be- 
lieves. I  will  never  remain  in  a  church  that  has  treated 
us  so." 

"We  will  talk  about  that,  dear,  later  on,"  Arthur  said 
soothingly.  "  There  are  bad  people  and  good  in  every 
church,  and  there  is  no  reason  for  changing  because  some 
of  them  may  do  wrong  things.  If  some  day  you  really  come 
to  think  that  our  religion  is  the  best,  I  shall  be  very  pleased, 
but  it  must  not  be  because  some  men,  in  an  excess  of  zeal 
for  their  church,  have  somewhat  ill-treated  me." 

Leon  nodded  approvingly.  "You  speak  rightly,  Arthur. 
Many  evil  things  have  been  done  in  Spain  by  the  priests. 
I  believe  myself  that  the  misfortunes  that  have  befallen  us 
are  a  punishment  for  the  evil  deeds  done  in  the  name  of 
religion  here.  But,  as  you  say,  it  is  not  because  evil  deeds 
are  mistakenly  done  in  its  name  that  the  religion  itself  is 
bad.  I  myself  am  no  bigot — there  are  very  few  educated 
men  in  this  country  who  are  so — and  I  fully  recognized,  when 
I  first  saw  what  Mercedes'  feelings  were  towards  you,  that 
if  she  became  your  wife  it  was  possible  that  in  time  she 
would  adopt  your  religion.  In  all  their  main  features  there 
is  no  great  difference  between  the  two  creeds,  and  certainly 
I  should  feel  no  great  grief  should  Mercedes  adopt  your 
faith;  but  I  agree  with  you  that  it  should  be  the  result  of 
conviction,  and  not  merely  because  she  has  reason  to  com- 
plain of  the  action  towards  you  of  certain  fanatics.  Now, 
we  will  go  in  to  the  girls,  who  will  be  dying  to  know  what 
has  taken  place." 


316  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

CHAPTER  XIX 

MILITARY    MOVEMENTS 

NOW,  girls,"  Leon  said,  when  Arthur  had  given  a  full 
relation  of  his  adventure,  "you  must  understand 
that  this  story  must  not  go  beyond  ourselves.  Whether  any 
steps  will  be  taken  in  the  matter  must  depend  largely  upon 
what  the  queen  regent  and  her  advisers  decide.  It  is  a  grave 
matter  for  the  state  to  embroil  itself  with  the  church,  and 
Arthur  has  already  told  me  that  he  will  be  guided  entirely 
by  their  wishes  in  the  matter.  I  thank  him  for  his  consider- 
ation. Angry  as  I  am  at  what  has  taken  place,  I  feel  that 
we  ourselves  could  not  but  suffer  were  such  a  grave  scandal 
to  get  abroad,  for  whatever  might  be  the  results  to  the  people 
who  have  been  concerned  in  this,  we  should  undoubtedly  be 
held  in  some  respects  accountable  for  them;  and  it  is  cer- 
tainly a  serious  matter  to  quarrel  with  the  church. 

"The  results  might  be  very  far-reaching.  If  this  out- 
rage upon  a  British  officer  were  known  in  England,  it  would 
produce  a  most  unfavourable  impression.  The  cause  of  the 
queen  has  received  warm  support  there,  British  soldiers  and 
sailors  have  been  fighting  for  us;  but  there  is  still  a  strong 
Carlist  party  in  England,  and  these  would  certainly  take 
advantage  of  this  affair  to  stir  up  public  feeling  against  us. 
Therefore,  I  feel  that  we  are  all  under  a  great  obligation  to 
Arthur  for  volunteering  to  put  himself  in  the  hands  of  the 
regent,  and  to  consent  to  allow  this  business  to  be  hushed  up. 
At  any  rate,  you  must  preserve  absolute  silence  until  we 
know  what  is  to  be  done.  I  am  going  to  drive  to  the  palace 
now  to  lay  the  matter  before  the  regent,  and  shall  be  able 
to  tell  you  more  this  afternoon.  Now,  Mercedes,  if  you  will 
take  my  advice  you  will  lie  down  for  a  bit;  you  have  been 
ill,  you  know,  and  are  not  yet  strong." 


MILITARY    MOVEMENTS  317 

"  I  shall  soon  be  strong  again,"  she  said ;  "  still,  I  shall 
take  your  advice,  for  I  do  feel  shaken,  and  I  want  to  be 
bright  this  afternoon  when  you  come  back." 

Leon  drove  with  Arthur  to  the  palace,  and  the  former  sent 
in  word  to  the  queen  regent  that  he  begged  to  see  her  in 
private  audience.  A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  they  were 
shown  into  the  room  where  she  was  sitting.  She  rose  with 
an  exclamation  of  surprise  on  seeing  Arthur. 

"  Why,  where  have  you  been,  Captain  Hallett  ? "  she  ex- 
claimed. "I  began  to  give  up  all  hope  of  ever  seeing  you 
again." 

"  It  is  a  somewhat  long  story,  your  majesty,  but  if  you  will 
condescend  to  listen  to  it  I  will  tell  it  to  you  in  full.  I 
have  come  not  to  demand  justice  at  your  hands,  but  to  leave 
the  matter  entirely  to  you,  to  take  any  steps  or  no  steps 
at  all,  as  you  may  decide." 

He  then  told  the  story,  his  narrative  being  frequently  in- 
terrupted by  exclamations  of  anger  from  Christina. 

"  It  is  infamous !  "  she  exclaimed,  when  he  brought  the 
story  to  an  end;  "most  infamous!  I  thank  you  most  heart- 
ily for  having  come  direct  to  me  instead  of  sending  your 
complaint  home.  It  is  a  very  serious  matter.  The  church 
is  already  by  no  means  well  disposed  towards  me,  and  the 
priests  throughout  the  country  have  largely  thrown  their  in- 
fluence on  to  the  side  of  my  enemies.  I  have  a  council  this 
afternoon,  and  shall  bring  the  matter  before  them;  you  have 
indeed  added  greatly  to  the  obligation  I  am  already  under 
to  you  by  offering  to  leave  the  matter  in  my  hands.  Of 
course,  you  have  a  right  to  large  compensation  for  this  illegal 
imprisonment." 

"I  can  assure  you  that  I  desire  no  compensation  at  all, 
your  majesty;  I  have  already  benefited  very  largely  by  your 
bounty.  The  only  thing  I  would  ask  is,  that  if  nothing  is 
done,  you  will  receive  Donna  Mercedes  at  your  palace  and 
take  her  under  your  protection  until  we  are  married.  Hav- 
ing failed  with  me,  the  next  attempt  will  be  made  upon  her, 


318  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

and  she  would  find  it  a  much  harder  task  than  I  have  to 
free  herself  from  their  hands." 

"  That  I  will  very  gladly  do,  senor;  and  I  don't  think  that 
even  the  church  would  venture  to  interfere  with  a  lady 
under  my  protection.  If  it  did,  it  would  find  me  far  less 
forgiving  than  you  are." 

The  next  morning  Arthur  received  a  message  requesting 
him  to  go  to  the  palace. 

"Your  case  was  fully  discussed  yesterday,  Captain  Hal- 
lett,"  the  queen  regent  said,  "  and  my  council  are  all  grateful 
for  your  magnanimity  in  placing  yourself  in  their  hands. 
They  are  fully  sensible  of  the  great  wrong  that  has  been  in- 
flicted upon  you,  and  of  the  very  serious  consequences  that 
might  have  ensued  if  you  had  chosen  to  place  your  case  in 
the  hands  of  the  British  government.  I  had  sent  to  the 
prior  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Isidoro,  and  he  was  called 
before  the  council  and  ordered  to  explain  his  conduct.  He 
did  not  in  any  way  attempt  to  deny  the  facts  as  stated  by 
you,  but  declared  that  he  was  acting  under  the  orders  of  the 
bishop,  whereupon  an  order  was  sent  the  latter  to  leave  the 
country  at  once  and  take  up  his  residence  at  Rome  until  he 
shall  have  received  permission  to  return.  The  council  pro- 
posed to  pay  you  ten  thousand  pounds  as  an  indemnity  for 
the  treatment  you  have  received.  I  told  them  that  I  would 
inform  you  of  their  decision,  but  that  you  had  already  ex- 
presssed  to  me  your  determination  not  to  accept  one.  They 
were  a  little  incredulous,"  she  said  with  a  slight  smile, 
"  which  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  considering  that  there  was 
not  one  of  them  who  would,  in  similar  circumstances,  have 
felt  the  slightest  hesitation  in  accepting  such  an  offer.  How- 
ever, I  told  them  I  would  see  you  to-day  and  lay  the  offer 
before  you." 

"Which  I  need  hardly  say,  your  majesty,  I  decline.  I 
own  that  I  am  well  pleased  to  hear  that  the  author  of  this 
affair  has  received  some  punishment.  After  that,  madam,  I 
do  not  think  it  will  be  necessary  for  Donna  Mercedes  to 


MILITARY    MOVEMENTS  319 

avail  herself  of  your  kind  protection.  The  issue  of  this 
order  for  the  bishop  to  go  into  exile  will  be  so  strong  a 
mark  of  your  majesty's  displeasure  that  there  can,  I  think, 
be  no  fear  whatever  of  any  further  steps  being  taken  by  my 
enemies.  Donna  Mercedes  has  been  very  ill,  and  I  think  she 
will  be  more  likely  to  recover  her  health  speedily  in  the 
society  of  her  brother  and  sisters  than  in  the  atmosphere 
of  the  palace,  where,  however  great  your  majesty's  kindness, 
there  must  be  a  certain  amount  of  stiffness  and  ceremony." 

"  I  should  have  been  glad  to  have  her  with  me,"  Christina 
said,  "  but  there  is  no  doubt  a  certain  amount  of  truth  in 
what  you  say.  However,  I  will  have  her  here  frequently, 
so  that  it  may  be  understood  that  she  is  a  special  friend  of 
mine,  in  which  case  I  am  sure  no  one  will  try  to  interfere 
with  her." 

Colonel  Wylde  returned  that  evening,  and  after  hearing 
the  whole  story  from  Arthur,  expressed  his  warm  approval 
of  the  course  he  had  taken. 

"  It  would  have  been  most  damaging  to  the  royal  cause," 
he  said,  "  if  this  affair  had  been  made  public  in  England ; 
and  though  I  think  you  would  have  been  more  than  justified 
in  accepting  the  amount  offered  as  an  indemnity,  I  can  but 
admire  your  disinterestedness  in  refusing  it." 

"And  now,  colonel,  I  am  ready  to  start  for  any  point 
where  you  may  require  my  services;  I  have  been  idle  too 
long  already." 

"Well,  the  war  is  practically  over  in  the  north.  That 
scoundrel  Maroto  has  arranged  terms  for  himself,  and  for  a 
few  of  his  friends,  with  Espartero,  but  has  made  no  con- 
ditions whatever  for  the  soldiers  who  have  fought  so  hard 
for  Don  Carlos.  However,  these  have  been  permitted  to 
return  to  their  homes,  and  at  present  Espartero  is  occupied 
in  settling  affairs  there  and  in  preparing  his  army  to  take 
the  field  in  the  spring  against  Cabrera.  A  number  of  small 
isolated  campaigns  are  going  on  in  Aragon.  We  have  al- 
ready three  or  four  commissioners  there,  but  it  is  perhaps 


WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

as  well  that  you  should  proceed  there  at  once,  as  it  is  now 
three  months  since  I  have  had  any  reports  from  you  to  send 
in  with  mine.  I  have,  of  course,  been  obliged  to  report 
your  disappearance,  and  shall  now  mention  that  you  had 
been  pounced  upon  by  some  enemies  of  the  queen  and  held 
in  confinement,  but  that  you  had  effected  your  escape." 

That  evening  Arthur  heard  from  Leon  that  Count  Silvio 
had  been  released  from  the  close  observation  he  had  been 
subjected  to  for  the  past  two  months.  "  It  is  believed,"  he 
said,  "  that  he  was  the  instigator  of  the  action  against  you, 
but  there  is  no  proof  whatever  that  this  is  so,  and  there  is 
therefore  no  excuse  for  keeping  him  further  under  arrest. 
He  has,  however,  been  ordered  to  retire  to  his  estates,  as 
there  is  at  least  the  strongest  ground  for  suspecting  that  he 
was  concerned  in  the  attack  upon  you  by  those  street  ruffians, 
and  his  whole  conduct  has  been  in  the  highest  degree  sus- 
picious." 

"  I  shall  be  glad  to  know  that  he  is  away,  Leon.  Of  course, 
I  am  not  sure  that  he  was  really  concerned  in  my  imprison- 
ment; the  priest  who  is  Mercedes'  confessor  is  likely  enough 
to  be  at  the  bottom  of  it." 

"I  think  so  too,  and  have  told  Mercedes  that  she  had 
better  choose  some  other  confessor." 

"I  think  the  two  men  were  set  upon  me  by  him;  but  I 
am  inclined  to  own  that  I  was  in  the  wrong  in  the  matter 
of  that  duel.  It  was  somewhat  reasonable  that  he  should 
have  been  jealous,  and  it  would  have  been  fair  if  I  had  con- 
tented myself  with  running  him  through  the  shoulder  in- 
stead of  making  him  a  perfect  laughing-stock.  I  was  irri- 
tated by  his  manner,  and  by  the  way  in  which  he  had 
brought  two  or  three  dozen  of  his  friends  to  see  him  run 
me  through.  Still,  I  own  that  I  was  wrong,  and  if  the  man 
would  come  and  offer  to  shake  hands  I  would  not  refuse  to 
do  so." 

"  Then  you  are  a  good  deal  more  forgiving  than  I  should 
be,"  Leon  said  heartily;  "and  I  should  like  nothing  better 


MILITARY    MOVEMENTS  321 

than  to  fight  him  myself.  However,  I  admit  that  there  is 
something  in  what  you  say;  certainly  he  had  some  ground 
of  complaint  against  Mercedes.  I  felt  that  it  was  hard  upon 
him  when  I  wrote  begging  him  to  break  off  the  engagement. 
Of  course,  I  have  been  glad  that  I  did  so  since  I  have  come 
to  know  him  better,  and  feel  that  Mercedes  had  a  very  fort- 
unate escape." 

"  Don't  let  her  go  out  unless  she  is  accompanied  by  one 
of  her  sisters  as  well  as  her  duenna." 

"No,  I  will  take  care  of  that;  she  shall  be  well  looked 
after,  I  promise  you,  and  I  don't  suppose  she  herself  will 
care  for  going  out  except  to  the  palace.  It  will  be  well  for 
her  to  go  there  pretty  often.  She  is  fond  of  Christina,  and 
she  will  feel  herself  that  her  intimacy  there  will  be  a  great 
protection  to  her." 

In  Catalonia  the  Carlists  were  still  very  strong.  The 
royal  army  numbered  at  least  fifty-five  thousand  men.  About 
seventeen  thousand — half  of  whom  were  regular  troops — 
garrisoned  the  permanent  forts,  and  of  the  remainder  twenty- 
five  thousand  belonging  to  the  local  militia  were  scattered 
among  no  fewer  than  two  hundred  and  seventeen  fortified 
villages  and  small  towns.  These  were  of  no  military  impor- 
tance, but  if  they  had  not  been  defended,  Cabrera's  forces, 
which  were  marching  about  the  country,  would  have  swept 
them  bare  of  their  inhabitants,  carrying  off  all  the  stores 
they  contained,  and  burning  them  to  the  ground.  It  was 
therefore  necessary  to  garrison  them,  not  only  because  this 
diminished  the  supply  of  stores  available  for  the  use  of  the 
enemy,  but  because  it  enabled  contributions  to  be  levied  for 
the  queen's  cause.  Undoubtedly  the  holding  of  these  places 
answered  those  purposes,  but,  upon  the  other  hand,  the  em- 
ployment in  this  manner  of  practically  the  whole  army  in 
Catalonia  completely  unfitted  it  for  all  operations  in  the 
field,  and  enabled  Cabrera  to  carry  on  his  operations  without 
meeting  with  any  efficient  opposition. 

In  this  way  he  captured  place  after  place,  massacring  the 


322  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

greater  portion  of  the  inhabitants  and  striking  terror  into 
the  others.  Arthur  had  been  despatched  to  join  the  com- 
mand of  General  Van  lialen,  who  was  occupied  principally 
in  endeavouring  to  victual  Lucena,  and  in  trying  in  a  feeble 
way  to  fortify  the  castle  of  Onda.  The  operation  progressed 
slowly,  for  although  the  war  had  been  going  on  for  years 
no  tools  were  available,  and  it  was  necessary  to  send  to  Cadiz 
to  purchase  them.  Colonels  Lacy  and  Alderson  were  with 
Van  Halen  when  Arthur  arrived,  and  after  staying  here  for 
a  short  time  he  joined  the  command  of  General  Ayerbe,  who 
was  endeavouring  to  mitigate  the  Carlist  system  of  atroci- 
ties. On  this  subject  Arthur  exchanged  several  letters  with 
Cabrera.  General  Ayerbe  was  also  endeavouring  to  prevent 
the  Carlists  from  carrying  out  the  fortification  of  Segura, 
an  important  place  in  Aragon,  as  it  lay  on  the  line  of  march 
to  Teruel  and  Alcaniz.  Parra  was  lying  near,  but  refused 
to  co-operate  with  Ayerbe,  and  Van  Halen  determined  to 
march  on  Segura  himself  and  lay  siege  to  it. 

Before  he  arrived,  however,  Ayerbe,  having  been  rein- 
forced, defeated  the  Carlists  at  a  place  two  hours'  march 
from  the  town,  drove  them  back  from  their  new  works,  and 
in  his  report  of  the  action  mentioned  that  Captain  Hallett 
had  rendered  material  services  and  had  led  a  small  party  of 
cavalry  in  a  brilliant  charge  which  decided  the  fate  of  the 
day.  Serrano  brought  up  a  battering  train  from  Saragossa. 
It  consisted,  however,  of  only  three  16-pounders,  a  12-inch 
mortar,  and  a  9-inch  howitzer,  and  all  the  ammunition  he 
could  obtain  amounted  to  fifteen  hundred  shot  and  one 
thousand  shell.  It  was  a  long  business  to  bring  up  even  this 
feeble  train.  The  weather  was  inclement  in  the  extreme, 
and  when  he  arrived  in  front  of  Segura — the  garrison  of 
which  had  been  very  strongly  reinforced  by  Cabrera — he 
found  that  his  force  was  wholly  insufficient  for  the  attack 
upon  the  place,  and  that  the  town  itself  had  been  burnt  by 
the  Carlists  to  prevent  it  from  affording  any  shelter  to  the 
besiegers. 


MILITARY    MOVEMENTS  323 

The  surrounding  country  had  been  wasted  for  many  miles, 
and  large  bodies  of  Carlists  were  seen  upon  some  adjoining 
heights.  He  therefore  consulted  with  the  officers  command- 
ing the  various  armies,  and  these  unanimously  declared  that 
it  would  be  madness  to  attempt  a  siege  in  such  circumstances. 
Abandoning  the  idea,  therefore,  he  embarked  upon  a  series 
of  long  and  fatiguing  marches,  by  which  he  caused  the  Car- 
lists  to  give  up  the  siege  of  several  places.  He  did  not,  how- 
ever, mitigate  the  animosity  of  his  rivals,  who  succeeded  in 
obtaining  his  recall  on  the  ground  of  his  having  abandoned 
the  siege  of  Segura,  which  they  said  might  easily  have  fallen 
into  his  hands.  Nogueras  succeeded  him,  but  was  speedily 
displaced  by  Ayerbe.  He,  however,  did  not  long  retain  the 
command,  which  was  given  to  O'Donnell,  an  active  and  ener- 
getic young  officer. 

Owing  to  the  absence  of  any  decisive  action  Arthur  re- 
mained at  head-quarters,  receiving  orders  from  Colonel 
Lacy,  who  was  the  principal  of  the  four  English  commis- 
sioners attached  to  the  armies  of  Catalonia  and  Aragon. 
They  hailed  the  appointment  of  O'Donnell  as  affording  some 
grounds  for  hope  that  at  last  something  like  vigour  would 
be  shown  in  the  operations  of  the  army,  which  was  at  pres- 
ent scattered  about  the  country,  employed  rather  in  collect- 
ing provisions  for  their  own  subsistence  than  in  harassing 
the  enemy. 

"  If  it  wasn't  that  the  fighting  in  the  north  is  finished, 
and  that  a  few  more  months  will  see  the  end  of  the  whole 
affair,  I  should  throw  up  my  commission  and  go  home," 
Arthur  said  one  day  to  Roper.  "  This  really  is  sickening, 
but  having  gone  through  so  much  of  it,  I  should  not  like 
to  leave  until  it  was  all  over." 

"  No,  sir ;  I  should  like  to  see  the  Carlists  smashed  up 
altogether  before  we  go.  Still,  it  is  dull  work.  Of  course, 
while  we  are  staying  down  here  in  Saragossa  we  get  plenty 
to  eat  and  drink,  but  when  we  are  away  in  the  country  it  is 
pretty  rough  work,  and  a  beggar  would  turn  up  his  nose  at 


324:  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

the  food  we  have  to  eat.  I  should  not  mind  if  there  was 
really  anything  to  do,  but  these  Spaniards  are  so  pig-headed 
that  they  won't  take  advice.  They  have  a  big  army  if  they 
would  but  gather  it  together  and  go  at  the  Carlists." 

"Yes,  it  certainly  seems  like  that,  Roper;  but  you  must 
remember  that  a  big  army  requires  a  tremendous  transport 
train,  for  it  would  have  to  carry  everything  with  it.  At 
this  time  of  year  little  food  is  to  be  obtained,  and  in  fact 
the  people  of  these  villages  and  little  towns  scarcely  do  any 
cultivation  of  the  land,  for  they  cannot  tell  who  will  reap 
what  they  have  sown.  Then,  too,  most  of  the  country  is 
mountainous,  the  roads  are  everywhere  abominable,  and  even 
if  we  had  a  train  sufficient  to  carry  the  supplies,  it  would  be 
so  large  and  cumbrous  that  its  tail  would  not  have  left  the 
halting-place  when  the  head  arrived  at  its  destination;  and 
you  must  remember  that  if  we  concentrate,  the  Carlists 
would  do  the  same.  A  portion  of  them  would  harass  us 
along  the  whole  line  of  march,  while  another  would  make 
excursions  wherever  they  pleased,  for  they  march  light,  and 
could  go  three  miles  to  every  one  that  we  can  cover.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  this  dispersal  of  our  force  over  so  large  an 
extent  of  country,  and  among  so  many  towns  and  villages, 
is  a  grievous  mistake,  but  it  is  very  difficult  to  see  what 
else  can  be  done,  for  if  we  gave  them  no  defence  these  places 
would  all  lie  at  the  mercy  of  the  Carlists,  and  would  be 
obliged  in  self-preservation  to  go  over  to  them,  thus  enor- 
mously increasing  their  recruiting-ground,  and  enabling 
them  to  get  stores  wherever  they  marched.  If  Cabrera 
would  but  gather  the  whole  of  his  force  together  and  allow 
us  to  do  the  same,  and  risk  everything  on  a  pitched  battle, 
the  matter  would  soon  be  brought  to  an  end.  But,  as  it  is, 
I  am  afraid  we  shall  have  to  wait  till  Espartero  arrives 
before  the  business  can  be  wound  up." 

The  first  step  General  O'Donnell  had  to  undertake  was 
the  relief  of  General  Asnar,  who  was  shut  up  by  the  Carlists 
in  Lucena.  Having  received  large  reinforcements  he  started 


MILITARY    MOVEMENTS  325 

for  that  place,  marching  unencumbered  by  baggage.  The 
enemy's  first  position  near  Lucena  was  easily  carried.  Five 
battalions  then  attacked  the  enemy's  left,  which  occupied  a 
position  that  would  enable  them  to  take  the  Christine  ad- 
vance in  flank.  When  this  movement  was  successful,  two 
battalions  attacked  the  right  of  the  Carlist  position,  while 
O'Donnell  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  rest  of  the 
troops,  who  advanced  with  loud  cheers  to  the  charge  over 
very  rugged  ground,  and  under  a  very  heavy  fire.  The  Car- 
lists  would  not  wait  to  stand  a  bayonet  charge,  and  aban- 
doned their  ground,  leaving  the  road  open  to  Lucena,  where 
Asnar  with  his  troops  had  been  imprisoned  for  twenty-two 
days. 

This  was  a  brilliant  piece  of  fighting,  and  immensely  raised 
the  spirits  of  the  royal  troops,  who  found  that  they  were  at 
last  commanded  by  a  man,  and  not  by  incapable  and  almost 
imbecile  dummies.  On  the  following  day  O'Donnell  marched 
to  Murviedro,  though  he  had  not  had  more  than  three  hours' 
continuous  rest  since  he  had  left  Saragossa. 

A  fortnight  later  he  proceeded  to  take  possession  of  the 
heights  beyond  Arteza,  his  intention  being  to  besiege  Tales, 
which  was  important  because  it  commanded  the  water-sup- 
ply of  the  town  of  Onda.  The  position  of  the  enemy  was  a 
strong  one:  his  right  was  on  a  hill  called  the  Pena  Negra, 
and  on  a  round  hill  on  a  slope  between  it  and  Tales;  his 
centre  was  upon  the  Castle  of  Tales ;  and  his  left  on  precipi- 
tous heights.  From  the  last-mentioned  the  Carlists  were 
driven  without  loss,  after  offering  but  a  very  slight  resist- 
ance. 

Arthur  had  been  requested  by  Colonel  Alderson — an  en- 
gineer officer,  who  was  now  senior  commissioner — to  recon- 
noitre the  ground  beyond  these  heights  to  ascertain  whether 
the  place  could  be  better  bombarded  from  the  rear.  Roper, 
as  usual,  rode  with  him.  They  had  gone  some  distance  when 
they  saw  two  horsemen  approaching  at  full  gallop.  As  these 
were  apparently  unaccompanied,  Arthur  paid  but  little  at- 


326  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

tention  to  them,  and  rode  on  until  he  heard  a  loud  and  im- 
perious order  to  stop.  Reining  in  their  horses  they  awaited 
the  arrival  of  the  two  unknown  men.  They  were  within 
fifty  yards  when  Arthur  exclaimed,  "  It  is  Cabrera  himself ! 
Well,  I  am  not  sorry  to  meet  him." 

Cabrera,  as  he  approached,  gave  a  shout  of  satisfaction  as 
he  recognized  Arthur.  "  Well,"  he  exclaimed,  "  you  have 
got  the  better  of  me  twice ;  this  time  it  will  be  my  turn ! " 

"  That  is  as  it  may  be,"  Arthur  replied.  He  saw  Cabrera 
draw  a  pistol  from  his  holster  and  he  did  the  same,  and  the 
two  weapons  flashed  out  together.  Arthur  felt  a  stinging 
pain,  as  if  a  red-hot  iron  had  crossed  his  cheek.  Cabrera 
dropped  his  pistol,  having  evidently  received  a  shot  in  his 
right  arm,  but  he  drew  his  sword  with  his  left,  and  rode  at 
Arthur.  Both  combatants  fought  with  fury — Cabrera  ani- 
mated by  a  burning  desire  for  vengeance,  Arthur  by  the 
thought  of  the  importance  of  killing  Cabrera,  for  he  was 
the  spirit  of  the  war,  and  after  his  death  the  Carlist  move- 
ment would  soon  come  to  an  end. 

The  combat  was  short  but  desperate.  The  disadvantage 
of  having  to  use  his  left  arm  greatly  hampered  Cabrera.  In 
point  of  skill  he  would  have  been  in  any  case  inferior  to  his 
opponent,  but  for  a  time  the  fury  of  his  assault  counter- 
balanced this.  Parrying  three  or  four  furious  cuts,  Arthur 
delivered  a  heavy  blow  on  his  antagonist's  left  shoulder,  in- 
flicting a  severe  wound  and  striking  him  from  his  saddle. 
Cabrera  leapt  to  his  feet  again.  Arthur  dismounted  and 
demanded  his  surrender. 

"  Never !  "  the  Carlist  said.  "  Cabrera  will  never  be  taken 
alive!" 

Roper  had  by  this  time  disembarrassed  himself  of  his  an- 
tagonist by  running  him  through  the  body,  and  he  now  rode 
up.  Cabrera  was  half  mad  with  rage.  Both  his  arms  were 
useless.  Just  as  Arthur  was  about  to  throw  himself  upon 
him  and  overpower  him,  Roper  shouted,  "Mount,  master! 
mount  and  ride!  Fifty  of  his  fellows  are  upon  us." 


MILITAEY    MOVEMENTS  327 

Looking  round,  Arthur  saw  that  a  body  of  men  were  rid- 
ing furiously  towards  them,  and  were  a  little  over  fifty 
yards  away.  He  hesitated  a  moment,  and  then  leapt  on  to 
his  horse,  shouting  to  Cabrera :  "  Next  time,  senor,  we  will 
finish  what  we  have  begun !  "  and  then  rode  off.  Several 
shots  were  fired,  but  leaning  low  in  their  saddles  they  gal- 
loped away  at  full  speed,  and  both  being  well  mounted,  were 
speedily  beyond  pursuit;  and,  indeed,  most  of  the  Carlists 
had  gathered  round  their  chief. 

On  regaining  their  camp  Arthur  reported  what  had  taken 
place  to  Colonel  Alderson,  who  at  once  took  him  across  to 
O'Donnell. 

"You  have  done  well  indeed,  Captain  Hallett,"  said  the 
general ;  "  and  though  it  is  a  grievous  pity  that  you  did  not 
kill  him,  which  would  have  been  more  to  our  advantage  than 
the  winning  of  a  pitched  battle,  it  will  lay  him  up  for  a  time, 
and  that  will  be  more  to  us  than  a  reinforcement  of  ten 
thousand  men.  I  thank  you  most  heartily,  sir,  in  the  name 
of  the  government." 

Cabrera,  indeed,  after  his  wounds  were  attended  to,  still 
gave  his  orders  for  the  defence  of  the  town,  and  inspired 
his  troops  by  his  presence.  Under  his  eye  they  made  several 
desperate  sorties  against  the  battery  which  was  being  pre- 
pared for  breaching  the  wall.  The  battery  was  placed  and 
but  feebly  worked,  for  throughout  the  war  the  Christino 
operations  in  the  way  of  sieges  were  always  unskilfully  man- 
aged, owing  to  the  utter  incompetence  of  their  engineers. 
However,  a  week  after  their  appearance  before  the  town, 
fire  was  opened.  The  siege  was  delayed  for  a  time  owing 
to  the  necessity  for  sending  reinforcements  to  a  body  of  the 
queen's  troops  which  had  suffered  a  severe  defeat  at  Chu- 
lilla.  The  battering  train  was  small  and  indifferent,  and 
several  of  the  guns  gave  way  during  the  bombardment,  which 
lasted  seven  days.  At  the  end  of  that  time  an  assault  was 
ordered. 

The  engineers  obstinately  refused  to  accept  Colonel  Alder- 


S28  WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION 

son's  advice  to  make  ladders,  although  it  was  evident  that 
the  breach  could  not  be  scaled  without  them.  Resisting  very 
strongly,  the  enemy's  left  was  at  last  turned,  and  the  round 
tower  on  the  right  captured.  The  garrison,  however,  fought 
desperately,  and  made  continuous  efforts  to  retake  it.  All 
day  the  battle  continued.  The  breach  in  the  castle  was 
found  to  be  impracticable,  but  was  at  last  enlarged,  and  the 
enemy  were  compelled  to  surrender.  The  day's  fighting,  how- 
ever, had  cost  the  queen's  troops  a  loss  of  at  least  four  hun- 
dred killed  and  wounded,  almost  all  of  which  might  have 
been  spared  had  Colonel  Alderson's  advice  been  taken.  Ca- 
brera had  left  the  town  before  the  attack  began,  being  too 
much  injured  to  take  the  command  himself.  The  defence, 
however,  had  been  a  gallant  one,  and  although  the  capture 
of  the  place  gave  great  encouragement  to  the  Christinos,  the 
stubbornness  of  the  defence  and  the  loss  they  had  inflicted 
served  to  show  the  Carlists  that  the  conquest  of  the  number 
of  strongly  fortified  positions  they  held  was  beyond  their 
opponents'  power. 

O'Donnell  destroyed  the  castle  and  tower,  and  then  re- 
tired, as  the  town  could  no  longer  be  held  by  the  Carlists 
for  the  purpose  of  harassing  the  garrison  of  Onda.  He  de- 
cided now  to  reduce  a  number  of  the  Carlists'  fortified  places 
and  wait  for  the  arrival  of  Espartero ;  but  the  Carlists  took 
the  offensive,  and  their  columns  moved  about  with  such 
activity  that  the  army  was  kept  constantly  on  the  march  to 
encounter  them  and  drive  them  back  again  into  the  moun- 
tains. It  was  not  till  October  that  Espartero  arrived  at 
Saragossa  and  met  O'Donnell  there.  Then  it  was  decided 
that,  until  the  arrival  of  reinforcements  which  were  coming 
from  the  north,  O'Donnell  should  continue  in  command,  his 
force  being  strengthened  by  seven  battalions  of  the  army  of 
the  north.  Espartero  advanced  with  the  rest  of  his  own 
force.  Their  plans,  however,  were  altered  by  the  early  set- 
ting in  of  winter.  The  roads  speedily  became  impassable, 
provisions  were  terribly  scarce,  and  the  movements  of  the 


MILITARY    MOVEMENTS  329 

armies  paralysed.  All  the  energies  of  the  commanders  were 
indeed  required  to  maintain  the  supply  of  provisions  for  the 
troops. 

The  English  commissioners  for  the  most  part  returned  to 
Madrid.  Among  these  was  Arthur,  who  spent  four  months 
there  very  happily.  Nothing  had  been  heard  of  Don  Silvio, 
who  was  still  living  on  his  estates.  It  was  evident  to  all 
that  the  war  would  speedily  come  to  a  close ;  bodies  of  troops 
from  all  parts  of  Spain  were  moving  to  the  scene  of  action, 
and  when  the  season  opened  Espartero  would  be  at  the  head 
of  an  army  against  which  even  Cabrera  could  not  hope  to 
make  head.  That  indefatigable  fighter  was  lying  ill  at  Mo- 
rella,  the  result  of  his  wounds,  which,  although  not  serious 
in  themselves,  had  been  rendered  so  by  the  incessant  energy 
and  activity  with  which  he  had  persisted  in  moving  about. 
The  news  of  the  retirement  of  Don  Carlos  had  for  a  long 
time  been  kept  from  the  peasantry,  but  even  when  it  be- 
came known  it  had  but  little  effect  upon  them.  They  cared 
little  for  Don  Carlos;  but  they  almost  worshipped  Cabrera, 
and  were  ready  to  follow  to  the  death ;  and  when  spring  came 
and  operations  could  be  resumed,  they  flocked  to  his  stand- 
ard again  in  as  large  numbers  as  before. 

In  February  the  campaign  reopened  and  Arthur  started 
to  rejoin  the  army.  At  one  of  the  towns  at  which  they 
stopped,  Roper  came  in  an  hour  after  their  arrival  and  said : 
"  Captain,  do  you  know  I  feel  pretty  sure  that  I  have  seen 
Don  Silvio.  It  was  only  his  back,  it  is  true,  but  I  am  con- 
vinced that  it  was  he.  I  was  walking  along  when  I  saw  a 
man  who  was  coming  the  other  way  suddenly  turn  off  down 
a  side  street.  When  I  got  to  the  end  of  it  I  looked  down, 
for  I  saw  by  the  sudden  turn  he  had  taken  that  he  wished  to 
avoid  me.  By  the  distance  he  had  gone  it  seemed  to  me 
that  he  must  have  been  running.  He  was  too  far  away  from 
me  to  speak  of  his  identity  with  any  certainty,  but  I  thought, 
and  still  think,  that  it  was  Don  Silvio." 

"  But  what  should  he  be  doing  here,  Roper? " 


330  WITH    THE    BEITISH    LEGION 

"  That  I  cannot  say,  sir.  At  any  rate  it  seems  to  me  that 
his  presence  here  just  at  the  moment  when  we  are  coming 
through  looks  like  mischief." 

"  Well,  of  course,  anyone  at  Madrid  watching  me  might 
have  found  out  the  day  on  which  we  were  going  to  start,  and 
might  have  sent  a  message  to  Don  Silvio  in  time  to  enable 
him  to  ride  here  before  we  came  along.  He  may,  of  course, 
have  brought  three  or  four  men  with  him;  he  is  more  likely 
to  have  done  that  than  to  have  trusted  to  recruiting  some 
fellows  here.  It  is  just  as  well — if  it  is  the  man — that  you 
should  have  recognized  him,  Roper,  for  at  any  rate  we  shall 
not  be  taken  by  surprise." 

"  Perhaps,  sir,  it  would  be  as  well  to  stop  a  few  days  here, 
or  to  change  our  route;  there  are  two  or  three  roads  by 
which  we  might  get  to  Saragossa.  They  would  certainly 
be  farther  than  the  direct  one;  but  it  would  make  little 
difference  whether  we  arrived  there  two  or  three  days  earlier 
or  later." 

"That  is  true  enough,  Roper;  but  if  he  is  watching  us 
here,  he  could  follow  us  by  one  road  as  well  as  another.  We 
have  our  pistols  and  swords,  and  I  should  say  that  we  could 
render  a  pretty  good  account  of  four  or  five  of  them." 

"  I  have  no  doubt  we  could,  captain ;  still,  I  would  rather 
not  fight  against  long  odds  if  I  could  avoid  it.  You  see, 
sir,  since  I  got  that  fifteen  hundred  pounds  banked  to  my 
credit  in  England  I  feel  more  careful  about  my  life  than 
before.  It  did  not  much  matter  then  whether  I  went  down 
or  not ;  now  it  seems  to  me  that  my  life  has  a  distinct  value, 
and  I  don't  want  to  throw  it  away." 

"Well,  I  can  say  the  same,  Roper.  Of  course,  I  always 
knew  I  was  coming  into  an  estate  some  day,  but  I  don't  know 
that  I  thought  much  about  it.  Now  my  life  is  of  great 
value  because  it  is  of  value  to  Donna  Mercedes.  I  don't 
say  anything  about  the  money  I  have  acquired,  but  certainly 
for  her  sake  I  do  hold  to  life  pretty  strongly;  at  the  same 
time  I  cannot  turn  back  from  my  duty  for  an  unknown  dan- 


MILITAKY    MOVEMENTS  331 

ger  and  merely  because  you  think  you  have  recognized  Don 
Silvio.  I  have  proved  that  I  am  a  far  better  swordsman 
than  he.  Since  my  duel  with  him  I  have  practised  a  good 
deal  with  my  pistols,  and  can,  I  think,  account  with  them  for 
two  or  three  assailants.  You  have  practised  as  well,  and  I 
fancy  that  you  ought  to  be  able  to  settle  with  two  of  them 
in  your  four  shots.  Let  us  suppose  that  Don  Silvio  has 
six  fellows  with  him — I  should  hardly  say  that  he  would 
bring  more.  Well,  if  we  can  each  dispose  of  two,  that 
only  leaves  us  with  three,  counting  Don  Silvio  himself,  to 
manage." 

"  Well,  captain,  that  is  all  right ;  but  if  these  six  men  are 
lying  in  ambush  and  fire  together,  they  may  upset  our  cal- 
culations altogether." 

"  That  is  certainly  so,  Roper.  But  unless  we  are  going 
to  turn  tail  and  ride  back  to  Madrid  on  the  strength  of 
your  belief  that  you  saw  Don  Silvio,  I  do  not  see  how  that 
is  to  be  helped.  Mind,  it  is  I  and  not  you  whom  Don 
Silvio  wants  to  kill.  I  have  got  my  shirt  of  mail,  and  I  do 
not  think  that  a  pistol  bullet  would  go  through  it;  so  that 
if  they  direct  their  fire  at  me,  unless  I  am  shot  through 
the  head  I  reckon  that  I  shall  still  be  in  fighting  order  after 
their  first  discharge.  At  any  rate,  Roper,  I  do  not  mean  to 
turn  back." 

"  Well,  if  you  go  on,  of  course  I  go  on,  sir,"  Roper  said 
doggedly ;  "  there  is  no  question  at  all  about  that." 

"I  think,  Roper,  the  best  thing  for  us  to  do  would  be, 
when  we  have  taken  our  meal,  to  sally  out  in  different  direc- 
tions with  our  cloaks  on  and  our  caps  over  our  faces.  Pos- 
sibly one  or  other  of  us  may  alight  upon  him  if  he  is  here. 
If  we  meet  him,  we  will  talk  the  matter  over  again.  I  don't 
want  to  do  anything  headstrong;  and  if  we  ascertain  that 
the  count  is  here,  we  will  discuss  whether  we  can  make  a 
detour  that  will  throw  him  off  the  scent,  though  I  say  hon- 
estly I  don't  think  such  an  attempt  would  be  of  any  use. 
If  he  has  men  with  him  they  will  certainly  be  posted  on  watch 


332  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGlOtf 

round  this  hotel,  and  he  will  learn  all  that  there  is  to  be 
learned  of  our  movements;  and  whatever  we  do,  we  shall 
have  to  fight  for  it.  If  he  has  more  than  six  men  I  should 
say  that  if  we  are  attacked  we  had  better  trust  to  our  horses 
and  not  to  the  strength  of  our  arms,  and  ride  for  it.  There 
is  nothing  cowardly  in  running  away  from  a  greatly  superior 
force,  and  certainly  I  shall  not  hesitate  to  do  so  if  I  see  that 
they  are  too  strong  for  us." 

Accordingly,  after  dinner  they  put  on  their  cloaks  and 
sallied  out. 

"  Don't  move  out  of  the  main  street  of  the  town,  Koper," 
Arthur  said.  "They  will  not  attack  us  there;  but  if  we 
were  to  turn  down  any  side  street  they  might  fall  upon  us 
suddenly.  We  had  better  be  back  here  in  an  hour's  time, 
and  we  will  then  exchange  notes." 

At  the  end  of  that  time  they  met  again  at  the  door  of  the 
inn. 

"  I  think  you  are  right,  Eoper.  I  am  sure  that  one  man 
at  least  has  followed  me  all  the  time  I  have  been  out." 

"  I  thought  so  at  first,  captain ;  but  the  fellow  I  suspected 
brushed  against  me  roughly  before  I  had  been  out  very  long, 
and  then  apologized.  It  struck  me  that  he  wanted  to  look 
at  my  face;  anyhow,  I  did  not  see  anything  of  him  after- 
wards. Don  Silvio  could  not  have  given  them  a  very  accu- 
rate description  of  us;  for,  as  you  stand  six  feet  one  and  I 
am  not  more  than  five  feet  eight,  no  one  who  knew  anything 
about  us  could  very  well  mistake  you." 

"  I  have  certainly  been  followed,"  said  Arthur,  "  and  I  feel 
sure  that  if  I  had  moved  out  of  the  main  street  I  should 
have  been  attacked.  There  were  two  fellows  who  kept  to- 
gether, and  another  who  followed  close  behind.  I  suspected 
all  three,  as  they  generally  kept  at  about  the  same  distance 
from  me.  Well,  I  have  no  doubt  now  that  you  were  right 
about  Don  Silvio.  I  will  see  if  they  have  got  such  a  thing 
as  a  map  in  the  hotel.  I  don't  suppose  they  have;  but  at 
any  rate  I  will  ask  the  landlord  to  send  up  some  man  who 


THE    END    OF    A    FEUD  333 

knows  the  roads  well  to  my  room,  and  I  will  find  out  as 
much  as  I  can  of  the  different  routes,  and  then  we  can  decide 
on  what  we  had  best  do." 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE    END    OF    A    FEUD 

THE  result  of  Arthur's  enquiries  was  that  the  three  roads 
by  which  he  could  travel  to  Saragossa  were  about 
equally  bad,  and  that  upon  all  of  them  there  were  places 
along  the  face  of  the  hills  at  which  attacks  might  be  made. 

"I  had  half  a  mind,"  he  said  to  Roper  afterwards,  "to 
hire  a  couple  of  men  as  guides,  telling  them  that  they  had 
better  bring  weapons  with  them.  But  it  is  likely  enough 
that  one  or  two  of  Don  Silvio's  men  may  be  stationed  in 
the  hotel,  and  you  may  be  sure  that  they  would  question 
anyone  who  had  been  up  to  my  room.  Don  Silvio  might 
afterwards  see  them  and  hire  their  services,  and  we  might 
be  shot  in  the  back  when  the  others  opened  fire  at  us  from 
an  ambush.  So  I  think  we  cannot  do  better  than  go  for- 
ward by  the  main  road.  If  we  once  get  a  start  of  them  they 
may  not  be  able  to  catch  us,  for  they  are  certainly  not 
likely  to  be  better  mounted  than  we  are;  and  they  cannot 
go  on  before  us,  for  then  they  could  not  know  which  road 
we  should  take." 

Accordingly  in  the  morning,  as  soon  as  they  had  mounted, 
they  took  the  straight  road  and  travelled  fast.  They  kept 
a  keen  look-out  at  all  spots  where  an  ambush  was  likely  to 
be  planted,  but  everything  was  quiet,  and  they  reached  their 
destination  that  evening  without  adventure. 

"It  will  be  more  dangerous  to-morrow,  Roper,"  Arthur 
said,  as  they  sat  at  supper  together.  "  We  are  fairly  started 
on  this  road  now,  and  there  is  no  choice  open  to  us  as  to 


334:  WITH    THE    BHITISH    LEGION 

which  route  we  can  take.     They  will  know  that,  and  may 
start  before  we  do,  and  choose  their  position  for  attack- 


ing us." 

"Well,  I  almost  hope  they  will  do  so,  sir.  I  am  not 
afraid  of  a  fight,  but  it  makes  one  jumpy  keeping  always 
on  the  look-out,  and  expecting  a  shot  from  every  bush  we 
pass." 

"  I  feel  that  myself,  Roper.  If  we  must  fight  I  would 
rather  do  so  now,  and  have  done  with  it." 

Next  morning,  feeling  that  if  their  enemies  had  started  in 
front  of  them,  it  would  be  useless  to  try  to  evade  them, 
they  proceeded  at  a  much  slower  pace  than  on  the  previous 
day.  After  riding  three  hours  they  came  to  a  spot  where 
the  road  was  cut  along  the  face  of  an  almost  perpendicular 
hill,  with  a  torrent  running  at  its  foot.  As  they  began  to 
ascend  this,  Arthur  unbuckled  the  covers  of  the  holsters,  so 
that  the  pistols  were  ready  for  instant  use.  He  directed 
Roper  to  do  the  same. 

"Now,"  he  said,  "will  you  ride  on  my  left,  keeping  ex- 
actly alongside?  It  is  I  whom  they  will  fire  at,  but  as  this 
mail  shirt  of  mine  will  keep  out  ordinary  pistol  balls  I  am 
not  afraid  that  I  shall  be  hurt.  Directly  they  have  fired, 
they  will  be  sure  to  jump  out  from  the  place  where  they  may 
be  lying;  then  empty  your  pistols  among  them  and  go  at 
them.  There  is  no  place  for  them  to  hide  here,  but  there 
may  be  farther  on.  At  any  rate,  do  as  I  tell  you.  Keep  your 
horse's  head  in  a  line  with  mine." 

Holding  his  rein  in  his  left  hand,  and  keeping  his  right 
close  on  the  handle  of  a  pistol,  Arthur  rode  on.  Roper  had 
attempted  to  remonstrate  against  the  order  he  had  given, 
but  Arthur  silenced  him. 

"  You  must  just  do  as  you  are  ordered,  Roper.  One  or  two 
might  shoot  at  you  if  you  were  riding  behind  me,  and  then 
I  should  be  left  alone  to  fight  the  whole  of  them.  I  shall 
certainly  want  your  help." 

They  rode  along  until  they  came  to  a  spot  where  the  cliff 


THE    END    OF    A    FEUD  335 

fell  away,  leaving  a  semicircular  depression  which  was  filled 
with  low  bush. 

"  They  are  here,  if  anywhere,"  said  Arthur.  "  Get  your 
pistol  ready,  Roper !  " 

As  they  rode  along  past  the  place,  a  number  of  men 
sprang  up  and  fired  a  volley.  Arthur  felt  a  sudden  and 
acute  pain  in  the  ribs,  and  was  nearly  knocked  from  his 
horse.  Eecovering  himself  with  a  great  effort,  he  fired  twice, 
and  two  of  the  men  dropped.  A  moment  later  his  horse 
staggered  and  fell.  As  it  did  so  he  dragged  the  other  pistol 
out  and  shot  a  man  who  was  rushing  at  him  with  a  clubbed 
musket.  He  heard  Roper's  pistols  go  off,  but  was  too  much 
engaged  with  a  fourth  man  who  rushed  at  him,  to  see  what 
was  the  result.  He  had  just  run  his  antagonist  through, 
when  Don  Silvio  leapt  upon  him.  Arthur  parried  the  thrust 
aimed  at  him,  and  at  once  engaged  in  a  furious  combat. 
Don  Silvio  leapt  round  him  with  the  agility  of  a  cat,  spring- 
ing in  and  out,  and  delivering  fierce  lunges  as  he  did  so. 
Otherwise  there  was  silence.  He  was  vaguely  conscious  that 
Roper  was  down,  but  that  he  had  disposed  of  the  last  of  his 
antagonists,  and  that  the  issue  remained  solely  between  him- 
self and  the  count.  He  was  at  a  disadvantage  with  the 
latter,  for  while  he  himself  was  armed  only  with  the  regula- 
tion cutting  sword,  his  antagonist  had  a  long,  straight,  duel- 
ling rapier. 

For  a  time  he  contented  himself  with  standing  on  his 
guard,  but  was  several  times  narrowly  touched.  At  last, 
seizing  his  opportunity,  he  struck  at  his  opponent's  rapier 
with  all  his  force.  The  blade  shivered  in  the  count's  hand, 
but  before  he  could  raise  his  guard  again  the  latter  sprung 
upon  him  like  a  wild  cat  and  grasped  him  by  the  throat, 
trying  to  hurl  him  over  the  precipice.  Arthur  dropped  his 
sword,  which  was  useless  to  him  now,  and  grasping  his  an- 
tagonist's wrists,  tried  to  drag  them  from  his  throat;  but 
rage  had  given  Don  Silvio  strength,  while  Arthur  himself 
was  almost  choking  under  the  pressure.  At  last,  with  a 


336  WITH    THE    BIUTISH    LEGION 

mighty  effort,  lie  succeeded,  and  in  turn  gained  a  grip  on 
the  throat  of  his  antagonist.  He  dragged  him  to  the  edge 
of  the  precipice,  and,  holding  one  hand  on  his  throat  and 
with  the  other  grasping  him  by  the  middle,  raised  him  from 
the  ground  to  hurl  him  over.  Another  instant  and  Don 
Silvio's  career  would  have  come  to  an  end,  but  almost  in  the 
act  of  throwing  Arthur  paused. 

The  sight  of  the  count's  convulsed  face  and  eyes  moved 
him  from  his  purpose,  and  he  set  him  down  again  on  the 
road,  releasing  him  as  he  did  so. 

"  Don  Silvio,"  he  said  sternly,  "  I  had  you  at  my  mercy, 
but  thoughts  came  into  my  mind  that  caused  me  to  change 
my  purpose.  I  feel,  as  I  have  all  along  felt,  that  I  have  not 
been  altogether  blameless  in  this  matter.  It  was  natural 
that  you  should  have  been  exasperated  by  the  belief  that  I 
had  gained  the  affections  of  Donna  Mercedes,  and  that  you 
should  thereupon  have  forced  a  duel  upon  me.  I  feel  that 
I  was  wrong  in  the  way  in  which  I  fought  you.  I  might  have 
contented  myself  with  merely  wounding  you,  whereas  I 
played  with  you  first  and  made  you  the  laughing-stock  of 
the  friends  you  had  brought  to  witness  your  triumph.  Con- 
sidering that  you  are  a  Spaniard  and  have  your  ideas  of  re- 
venge, I  can  pardon  the  attempt  of  those  two  men,  whom,  I 
doubt  not,  you  bribed  to  stab  me.  I  do  not  know  what 
share  you  had  in  getting  me  into  prison,  nor  do  I  care  to 
enquire.  I  have  now  again  worsted  you,  and  have  you  at 
my  mercy;  but  looking  back  and  seeing  that  I  have  been 
myself  to  some  extent  wrong,  I  give  you  your  life.  Go  home, 
senor,  and  retrieve  the  past.  I  believe  that  you  were  an 
honourable  gentleman  before  you  were  led  astray  by  your 
anger  at  being  superseded  in  the  affections  of  Donna  Mer- 
cedes. That  quarrel  has  been  fought  out  and  come  to  an 
end.  Go  home  and  try  to  forget  what  has  passed.  You  will 
never  hear  of  it  from  me." 

Don  Silvio  staggered  back  and  stared  in  bewildered  in- 
credulity at  Arthur,  who,  turning  away,  at  once  went  to 


THE    END    OF    A    FEUD  337 

Roper's  side.  The  latter  was  insensible,  evidently  from  the 
effects  of  a  tremendous  blow  from  the  butt-end  of  a  musket 
delivered  by  a  man  who  lay  dead  beside  him.  Roper  had 
indeed  fired  and  inflicted  a  mortal  wound  upon  his  adver- 
sary, who  was  in  the  act  of  striking.  The  blow  had  fallen, 
but  it  was  the  last  effort  of  the  striker.  The  two  had  fallen 
side  by  side.  Arthur  went  to  his  dead  horse,  pulled  out  a 
flask  from  the  wallet,  poured  some  brandy  and  water  be- 
tween Roper's  lips,  and  rubbed  some  on  his  forehead,  and 
soon  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  his  follower  open 
his  eyes. 

"  It  is  all  right,  Roper,"  he  said,  "  we  have  thrashed  them 
all.  You  have  had  a  nasty  knock  on  the  head.  Fortunately 
your  crown  is  pretty  thick,  and  you  will  be  all  right  again 
in  a  few  minutes ; "  then  as  he  saw  that  Roper  was  rallying 
he  turned  to  the  count,  who  was  sitting  on  a  fallen  rock  with 
his  head  in  his  hands.  Seven  dead  bodies  lay  in  the  road. 
The  count  got  up  as  he  approached. 

"  Englishman,"  he  said  in  a  low  voice,  "  you  have  indeed 
proved  my  conqueror  in  every  way,  in  fighting  and  in  gen- 
erosity. I  can  scarcely  even  now  believe  that  I  am  alive, 
and  that  you  have  spared  me  when  I  was  wholly  at  your 
mercy.  I  do  not  deserve  life  at  your  hands." 

"  Say  no  more  about  it,"  Arthur  said.     "  I  injured  you 

first  unconsciously,  and  then  consciously;  you  have  tried  to 

strike  back  hard,  and  this  is  the  result.    Let  all  animosity 

be  at  an  end  between  us.     Go  back  to  your  estate,  live  there 

luietly  for  a  while,  and  then  let  the  memory  of  our  duel 

and  all  connected  with  it  pass  away — such  matters  are  soon 

forgotten — and   return   to    Madrid.     I   shall    no    longer  be 

there.     In  a  few  months  I  shall  be  back  in  England.     Now," 

le  said  in  a  different  tone,  "where  are  these  men's  horses? 

ley  must  have  ridden  here;  and  as  they  have  killed  my 
favourite,  I  must  provide  myself  with  another." 

"  They  are  all  round  the  next  turn,"  Don  Silvio  said.  "  I 
at  least  make  reparation  to  you  in  the  matter  of  the 


338  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

horse,  for  mine  is  as  good  as  yours  was.  I  will  take  one  of 
the  others,  which  indeed  are  all  my  own." 

"  What  is  to  be  done  with  these  bodies  ? " 

"  There  is  a  man  with  the  horses.  I  will  get  him  to  throw 
them  over  into  the  gorge.  It  may  be  months  before  anyone 
finds  them.  We  shall  lead  four  of  the  best  of  the  horses 
back,  and  the  others  can  be  left  for  the  first  comer." 

"  But  the  man  will  be  a  trouble  to  you  in  the  future,  will 
he  not?" 

"No;  he  is  my  steward,  and  devoted  to  the  family.  It 
was  he  who  arranged  for  the  services  of  these  men,  at  a 
town  twelve  miles  from  my  place.  He  fetched  them  over 
and  provided  them  with  horses.  They  will  not  be  missed 
from  their  homes,  and  indeed  the  town  will  have  some  reason 
to  rejoice  over  their  disappearance." 

By  this  time  Roper  was  sufficiently  recovered  to  be  able 
to  stand,  but  he  was  still  a  good  deal  dazed  and  bewildered. 
Arthur  assisted  him  to  mount,  took  the  saddle  and  bridle  off 
his  own  horse,  and  carrying  them  with  him  and  leading 
Roper's  horse,  he  followed  the  count  round  the  corner. 
Here  was  a  group  of  nine  horses  ready  saddled,  with  a  tall 
old  man  standing  beside  them. 

"  Raphael,"  the  count  said,  "  take  the  saddle  off  my  horse 
and  put  this  gentleman's  on  to  it.  I  have  had  a  heavy  les- 
son, and  one  that  will  last  me  all  my  life.  This  gentleman, 
whose  life  I  strove  to  take,  has  spared  mine  when  he  had  it 
at  his  mercy.  I  must  get  you  to  help  me  to  throw  into  the 
gorge  below  the  seven  bodies  of  the  men  who  went  with  me. 
They  have  all  been  killed.  Put  my  saddle  on  to  one  of 
theirs.  What  do  you  think  we  had  better  do  with  the 
others?" 

"  I  would  leave  them  here,  senor.  I  picked  out  the  worst 
lot  on  the  estate.  They  are  not  worth  the  trouble  of  taking 
home;  and  if  I  were  to  lead  three  or  four  horses  for  the 
five  days  it  will  take  us  to  get  there,  it  would  be  remarked 
upon.  People  are  sure  to  come  along  the  road  in  the  course 


THE    END    OF    A    FEUD  339 

of  the  day,  and  you  may  be  certain  that  the  horses  will  all 
be  appropriated  before  night,  and  that  nothing  will  be  said 
about  them." 

"  Very  well;  perhaps  that  will  be  the  best  way." 

The  count's  horse  had  by  this  time  been  saddled.  Arthur 
mounted. 

"  Well,  count,  I  will  say  good-bye.  Our  feud  has  been 
a  fierce  one  while  it  lasted,  but  it  is  well  over  now,  and  I 
think  it  may  have  done  both  of  us  good." 

"  I  am  sure  it  will  do  me  good,"  the  count  said  humbly. 
"Adieu,  may  the  good  fortune  you  deserve  always  attend 
you!" 

Arthur  waved  his  hand,  touched  his  horse  with  his  spur, 
and  went  on  with  Roper. 

"  How  are  you  feeling,  Roper  ?  " 

"  I  am  getting  all  right,  sir,  though  my  head  still  seems 
to  hum.  I  hardly  know  how  it  came  about.  I  fired  right 
at  a  man  close  to  me.  He  was  in  the  act  of  striking  at  me, 
and  I  thought  he  would  have  dropped ;  but  before  I  had  time 
to  throw  up  my  hand  or  parry  in  any  way  the  blow  came 
down,  and  I  remember  nothing  else  till  I  found  you  pouring 
brandy  down  my  throat." 

"  You  fired  a  second  too  late.  I  found  the  man  lying  dead 
beside  you,  but  I  suppose  the  blow  was  already  falling  when 
you  hit  him,  and  it  came  down  on  to  your  head  without  any 
further  effort  on  his  part." 

"  And  we  killed  the  whole  of  them,  sir  ? " 

"  Yes ;  I  brought  down  three  with  my  pistols  and  one  with 
my  sword.  You  must  have  accounted  for  the  other  three." 

"  Yes ;  I  fired  four  times,  sir.  I  know  I  shot  the  two  first 
men,  but  before  I  could  get  my  pistol  fairly  out  of  the  other 
holster  the  third  man  was  on  me.  I  missed  him  the  first  time, 
but  hit  him  with  the  second  barrel  just  as  he  was  in  the  act 
of  striking  me  down.  He  was  the  only  man,  I  think,  who 
had  a  gun,  all  the  others  used  pistols." 

"  Now  I  think  of  it,  Roper,  I  have  a  strong  suspicion,  by 


34:0  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

the  pain  I  am  feeling,  that  one  or  two  of  my  ribs  are  broken. 
I  felt  a  very  sharp  pang  for  a  moment.  That  mail  shirt  kept 
the  bullets  from  penetrating,  but  it  did  not  keep  them  from 
hitting  me  very  hard.  I  think  I  will  dismount  now  and  strip 
to  the  waist,  and  get  you — if  you  feel  up  to  it — to  bandage 
me  tightly.  I  know  you  always  carry  a  couple  of  bandages 
in  your  valise." 

"  Oh,  I  am  well  enough  for  that,  sir,"  Roper  said,  dis- 
mounting. Then  leaving  his  horse  he  went  across  to  Arthur 
and  assisted  him  to  dismount  and  to  take  off  his  coat  and 
shirt. 

"  Here  are  the  two  bullets,  sir,  jammed  tightly  in  the  coat 
of  mail;  one  is  about  an  inch  above  the  other.  I  am  afraid 
two  of  the  ribs  are  broken.  I  will  make  a  shift  to  bandage 
you  up  as  tightly  as  I  can,  and  we  will  stop  at  the  next 
town,  which  can  only  be  six  or  seven  miles  away,  and  get  a 
surgeon  to  attend  to  you  properly.  We  will  walk  our  horses 
all  the  way,  it  would  never  do  to  trot." 

When  Arthur  had  dressed  again  they  continued  on  their 
journey  at  a  very  quiet  pace,  and  arrived  two  hours  later  at 
a  town.  They  put  up  at  the  principal  inn  and  sent  for  a 
surgeon,  who,  on  examining  Arthur,  at  once  found  that  the 
two  ribs  were  broken. 

" How  long  shall  I  be  kept  here?  " 

"  It  will  depend  how  quickly  the  bones  knit.  I  should  say 
that  you  ought  to  stay  for  at  least  three  weeks;  but  pos- 
sibly you  may  go  on  before  that,  provided  you  take  matters 
quietly.  I  shall,  of  course,  bandage  you  up  so  tightly  that 
they  cannot  shift  unless  you  give  yourself  a  wrench." 

Arthur  was  detained  ten  days,  but  at  the  end  of  that  time 
he  insisted  on  proceeding.  He  was  tightly  enveloped  in 
broad  bandages,  and,  as  he  said,  felt  as  if  he  were  in  a  stiff 
pair  of  stays.  He  promised  the  surgeon  that  he  would  not 
let  his  horse  go  beyond  a  walk.  However,  they  accomplished 
the  journey  to  Saragossa  at  a  pretty  fair  rate,  travelling  from 
eight  to  nine  hours  a  day,  making  an  average  of  twenty-five 


THE    END    OF    A    FEUD  341 

miles.  By  the  time  they  got  there  Arthur  no  longer  felt  any 
acute  pain,  and  was  confident  that  the  bones  were  healing. 
However,  he  resolved  to  follow  the  surgeon's  advice  and  not 
attempt  to  remove  the  bandages  for  another  month. 

He  found  Saragossa  a  scene  of  great  preparations.  Espar- 
tero  had  determined  not  to  move,  as  Oraa  had  done,  with 
an  insufficient  siege-train,  and  during  the  months  of  com- 
parative inactivity  he  had  collected  a  battering  train  of  forty 
pieces,  of  which  eight  were  24-pounders,  twelve  16-pounders, 
ten  mortars,  and  ten  howitzers.  Each  gun  was  provided 
with  a  thousand  rounds  of  ammunition. 

Besides  the  siege-train  he  had  also  with  him  three  field 
batteries  armed  with  heavy  guns.  Transport  had  been  col- 
lected with  immense  difficulty,  for  to  carry  the  ammunition 
alone  five  hundred  carts  and  two  thousand  mules  were  re- 
quired, besides  the  waggons  of  the  commissariat  train  and 
those  for  regimental  transport.  The  force  that  was  to  ac- 
company these  amounted  to  twenty  thousand  men,  while 
some  eight  thousand  others  were  posted  on  the  road  and  as 
garrisons  in  various  villages.  On  the  18th  of  May  the  bat- 
tering train  moved  forward,  and  was  followed  the  next  day 
by  the  main  body.  The  first  division  advanced  to  the  height 
of  San  Marcos,  within  sight  of  Morella.  The  main  body 
with  the  head-quarters  and  artillery  halted  a  few  miles  short 
of  this  on  the  heights  above  Pobleta. 

During  the  night  the  weather  changed  suddenly.  A  very 
heavy  snow-storm  set  in,  and  several  men  and  mules  were 
frozen  to  death.  There  was  no  change  on  the  next  day,  but 
on  the  23rd  the  army  again  advanced,  and  arrived  early  in 
the  afternoon  within  range  of  the  fort  of  San  Pedro.  It 
halted  about  two  thousand  yards  from  the  town  on  its  north 
side.  The  fort  stood  on  a  commanding  height  and  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  deep  ditch.  On  its  south  and  west  sides  it  was 
inaccessible;  on  its  north  front  it  was  well  covered  by  a 
glacis.  Its  only  exposed  face  was  visible  from  another 
height,  called  San  Marcos,  at  a  distance  of  a  thousand  yards 


34:2  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

on  the  same  level  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley.  Owing 
to  the  distance  at  which  San  Pedro  stood  from  the  city,  Ca- 
brera had  since  the  last  siege  erected  another  strong  redoubt 
called  La  Querola  to  protect  the  communications.  He  had 
made  a  great  mistake,  however,  in  not  erecting  another  for- 
tification on  the  heights  facing  La  Querola.  The  two  would 
have  protected  each  other,  and  their  fire  crossing  the  road 
between  them  would  have  enabled  them  to  hold  out,  even 
against  the  powerful  artillery  brought  against  them,  for  at 
least  a  fortnight. 

Cabrera,  however,  who  was  no  engineer,  instead  of  cover- 
ing the  approaches  with  fortifications,  had  wasted  much  time 
in  forming  entrenchments  in  the  town  which  would  be  of 
little  or  no  use  after  an  entry  was  once  made.  He  himself 
was  still  suffering  from  the  effects  of  the  wounds  Arthur  had 
inflicted  upon  him,  and  was  unable  to  undertake  the  defence 
of  the  place;  and  when  the  besieging  army  drew  near  he 
left  the  town  with  some  eight  thousand  men  in  order  to 
harass  communications,  and  interfere  as  far  as  possible  with 
the  progress  of  the  siege. 

Espartero  found  that  it  was  necessary  to  take  La  Querola 
before  the  city  itself  could  be  attacked,  because  it  com- 
manded the  road  by  which  the  siege  artillery  was  brought  up. 
There  was,  too,  in  the  valley  along  which  the  road  ran,  an 
aqueduct  which  supplied  the  city  with  water,  and  behind  this 
a  large  body  of  troops  could  form  up  without  being  seen 
from  the  city. 

It  was  also  desirable  that  this  should  be  effected  because 
the  weakest  part  of  the  wall  was  between  the  castle  and  the 
gate  of  San  Miguel;  and  were  a  breach  effected  there,  the 
whole  of  the  interior  entrenchments  would  be  commanded 
from  it.  The  army  encamped  in  front  and  on  the  flanks  of 
San  Pedro,  the  stores  and  heavy  guns  being  placed  on  the 
height  of  San  Marcos.  On  the  24th  of  May  the  engineers 
commenced  an  approach  against  the  north  front  of  San 
Pedro,  and  the  artillery  on  the  opposite  height  opened  fire 


THE    TWO    WEAPONS    FLASHED    AT    THE    SAME    MOMENT 


THE   END    OF   A   FEUD  343 

upon  it.  The  work  of  the  sappers  was  arduous ;  an  incessant 
musketry  fire  was  kept  up  upon  them,  and  the  ground  was 
so  rocky  that  it  was  very  difficult  to  obtain  shelter.  Find- 
ing, therefore,  that  the  approach  could  not  be  made  in  a  reg- 
ular way,  the  sappers  went  forward  at  a  run  to  within  two 
hundred  yards  of  the  fort,  and  then  covered  themselves  by 
hurriedly  throwing  up  a  stone  wall. 

Behind  this  they  kept  up  so  rapid  and  heavy  a  fire  that 
they  silenced  that  of  the  defenders,  and  during  the  night 
carried  forward  the  work  to  within  a  hundred  yards  of  the 
wall,  and  completed  a  little  battery  of  three  16-pounders, 
which  were  to  fire  at  the  very  small  part  of  the  work  which 
was  not  covered  by  the  glacis.  They  opened  fire  at  day- 
break, but  did  very  little  damage.  It  was  otherwise,  how- 
ever, on  the  eastern  side,  where  the  wall  was  so  effectually 
pounded  by  the  heavy  guns  on  the  opposite  heights  that  the 
whole  of  the  parapet  on  that  face  was  destroyed,  and  there 
was  therefore  no  shelter  for  the  defenders.  Some  of  the 
light  troops  seeing  this,  crept  up  close  to  the  ditch.  The 
defenders,  thinking  that  an  assault  was  intended,  rushed  to 
oppose  them,  but  suffered  terribly  from  the  fire  from  San 
Marcos. 

Again  and  again  they  exposed  themselves  in  the  most 
gallant  manner,  but  the  fire  from  the  guns  was  so  excellent 
that  they  fell  in  great  numbers.  At  eight  o'clock  the  gar- 
rison sounded  a  parley,  and  the  governor  offered  to  surrender 
on  condition  that  the  survivors  should  be  permitted  to  re- 
treat to  Morella.  Espartero  refused,  and  as  the  garrison 
could  not  any  longer  continue  the  hopeless  defence,  the  gov- 
ernor surrendered  at  discretion.  In  the  meantime  Espar- 
tero had  moved  some  light  infantry  against  La  Querola,  the 
newly-raised  fort  built  to  keep  up  the  communications  be- 
tween San  Pedro  and  the  city.  The  garrison  here  showed 
none  of  the  same  spirit  that  had  animated  the  defenders  of 
San  Pedro.  Notwithstanding  the  assistance  rendered  by  a 
strong  sortie  from  Morella,  they  resisted  the  attack  for  only 


344  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGIOtf 

half  an  hour  and  then  abandoned  the  fort,  being  cut  up  as 
they  retired  by  Espartero's  cavalry. 

Thus  the  way  was  opened  for  an  advance  of  the  besiegers 
to  the  neighbourhood  of  the  city  itself,  and  the  whole  army 
moved  forward.  A  natural  ridge,  at  a  distance  of  from 
seven  to  eight  hundred  yards  from  the  city,  covered  their 
movements,  and  here  the  batteries  were  at  once  commenced. 
By  the  29th  all  was  ready — thirty-five  guns  were  in  position 
— and  a  tremendous  fire  was  opened  against  the  town.  The 
mortars  did  not  effect  the  expected  damage,  for  the  town  was 
almost  entirely  composed  of  stone,  and  but  few  houses  were 
set  on  fire.  The  destruction  wrought  by  the  other  guns  was, 
however,  very  great :  the  wall  between  the  castle  and  the  gate 
of  San  Miguel  crumbled  rapidly,  while  the  fire  from  the 
castle  was  almost  wholly  silenced,  and  a  very  destructive  ex- 
plosion took  place  in  one  of  the  principal  magazines.  The 
northern  defences  of  the  castle  were  almost  destroyed,  and 
communication  could  no  longer  be  held  by  daylight  between 
it  and  the  town. 

At  half -past  two  in  the  afternoon  an  officer  let  himself 
down  by  a  rope  from  the  western  wall  and  informed  Espar- 
tero  that  a  meeting  of  the  principal  officers  of  the  town  had 
been  held,  and  that  it  had  been  determined  that  the  troops 
in  the  city  should  that  night  endeavour  to  escape  through 
the  besieging  army  and  join  Cabrera,  who  was  with  the  field 
force  and  very  ill.  The  garrison  of  the  castle  was  to  remain 
and  cover  the  escape  of  their  comrades.  Espartero  at  once 
took  precautions  to  frustrate  the  attempt  to  escape.  Direct- 
ing an  incessant  fire  to  be  kept  up  by  all  the  guns,  he  de- 
spatched officers  to  the  different  divisions  to  order  that  the 
investment,  which  had  not  hitherto  been  complete,  should  at 
once  be  carefully  closed,  and  that  at  nightfall  the  troops 
should  draw  nearer  to  the  town  and  occupy  in  force  all  the 
roads,  particularly  that  towards  the  gate  of  the  Puerta  del 
Estudio,  which  alone  had  not  been  blocked  before  the  siege 
began.  As,  however,  he  was  by  no  means  certain  that  the 


THE    END    OF    A    FEUD  345 

information  brought  by  the  deserter  was  true,  he  directed 
the  erection  of  two  new  batteries  at  the  north-west  angle  of 
the  wall,  while  another  battery  was  erected  at  the  south-west 
side  of  the  city,  a  couple  of  field  batteries  being  also  sent 
round  there. 

At  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening  fire  was  opened  all  round 
Morella.  This  seemed  to  show  that  the  information  that 
had  been  received  was  correct,  and  that  this  outburst  of 
firing  was  intended  to  show  that  the  garrison  was  vigilant 
and  active.  At  dawn  the  troops,  ignorant  that  their  scheme 
had  been  betrayed,  marched  down,  headed  by  the  governor. 
To  their  surprise  they  were  encountered  by  an  overwhelming 
force,  and  in  the  hasty  struggle  that  ensued  three  hundred 
and  fifty  of  the  Carlists  were  made  prisoners.  The  rest  of 
the  column  endeavoured  to  regain  the  town,  but  a  shell  fell  on 
the  draw-bridge  and  destroyed  it.  A  terrible  scene  now  en- 
sued. A  great  many  of  the  wives  and  children  of  the  troops 
had  marched  out  with  them,  believing  that  the  road  was  per- 
fectly clear.  These  were  pressed  back  by  the  retreating 
troops.  Numbers  of  men,  women,  and  children  were  forced 
into  the  moat,  which  soon  became  filled  with  a  mass  of  strug- 
gling, suffocating  people. 

To  add  to  the  horror  of  the  scene,  those  of  the  garrison 
who  still  remained  within  the  walls,  hearing  the  shouts  of  the 
Christinos — "  Viva  la  Keyna !  " — fired  miscellaneously,  in  a 
panic,  upon  friends  and  foes.  At  six  o'clock  in  the  morning 
the  officer  second  in  command,  and  now  acting  as  governor, 
sent  out  to  offer  to  capitulate  on  the  condition  that  the  gar- 
rison should  be  allowed  to  withdraw  to  a  foreign  country. 
This  was  peremptorily  refused  by  Espartero,  and  at  eight 
o'clock  the  place  surrendered  unconditionally.  The  remain- 
der of  the  garrison  marched  out  and  piled  arms  under  the 
castle,  their  number  exceeding  three  thousand.  In  both  the 
city  and  the  castle  the  magazines  were  found  stored  with  pro- 
visions sufficient  to  enable  them  to  hold  out  for  several 
months.  The  defence  was,  on  the  whole,  quite  unworthy  of 


346  WITH    THE    BRITISH 

the  traditions  of  the  Carlists — in  fact  the  little  garrison  of 
San  Pedro  alone  behaved  well. 

There  could  be  no  doubt  that  the  defenders  had  been  cowed 
by  the  overwhelming  powers  of  the  siege  artillery.  They 
had  relied  upon  being  able  to  repulse  any  assault  that  might 
be  made,  but  were  utterly  unprepared  for  a  bombardment 
such  as  they  had  to  endure.  There  was  no  precedent  for  the 
collection  of  so  great  a  force  of  artillery.  At  the  unsuccess- 
ful siege  by  Oraa  only  some  eight  to  ten  small  pieces  had 
been  used;  these  had  been  badly  placed  and  badly  handled, 
and  time  had  not  even  been  allowed  for  them  to  complete 
the  breaches.  When,  therefore,  the  walls  were  swept  by  the 
fire  of  fifty  or  sixty  guns,  and  the  garrison  saw  their  de- 
fences in  one  day  crumble  before  them,  they  thought  only  of 
escape.  The  lamentable  part  of  the  affair  was  the  fearful 
destruction  of  life  outside  the  gate. 

This  was  a  worthy  conclusion  of  a  struggle  that  had  been 
conducted  on  both  sides  with  an  amount  of  ferocity,  bru- 
tality, and  bloodshed  altogether  without  precedent  in  mod- 
ern warfare;  indeed,  to  find  a  parallel  it  is  necessary  to  go 
back  to  the  wholesale  slaughter  committed  by  Alva  in  the 
Low  Countries. 

The  English  officers,  after  order  was  restored,  called  upon 
Espartero  to  congratulate  him  on  his  complete  success,  and 
two  or  three  of  them  took  leave  of  him  at  once,  as  it  was 
certain  that  although  some  guerilla  skirmishing  might  still 
go  on,  the  war  was  practically  at  an  end.  They  then  rode 
back  to  the  hut  which  had  formed  their  head-quarters  during 
the  siege. 

The  general  expression  was  that  of  joy  that  their  arduous 
and  thankless  work  was  at  an  end.  They  had  been,  in  some 
cases,  for  years  travelling  almost  constantly  with  flying  col- 
umns, which  moved  aimlessly  through  the  country,  or  re- 
mained for  months  together  inactive  without  making  an 
effort  to  get  in  touch  with  the  enemy.  It  was  not  their 
business  to  give  advice  unless  it  was  asked  for:  their  mis- 


THE    END    OF    A    FEUD  347 

sion  was  to  endeavour  to  humanize  the  war.  And  although 
at  times  one  or  another  of  the  commanders  would  act  with 
some  little  humanity,  these  were  quite  exceptional  cases,  and 
as  a  rule  little  quarter  was  given  on  either  side,  both  insist- 
ing that  these  atrocities  were  but  reprisals  for  acts  of  the 
other  party. 

•  In  vain  had  the  British  commissioners  urged,  in  the  name 
not  only  of  humanity  but  of  good  policy,  that  the  customs 
of  war  should  be  followed,  and  that  their  antagonists  should 
not  be  excited  to  madness  by  the  wanton  destruction  of  life, 
the  wholesale  devastation  of  the  country,  and  the  razing  to 
the  ground  of  villages  and  homesteads.  Both  parties  ad- 
mitted the  justice  of  their  reasons,  both  bewailed  the  neces- 
sity for  such  actions ;  but  both  continued  to  commit  them  to 
the  end  of  the  war.  There  was,  then,  a  feeling  of  deep  satis- 
faction among  the  three  or  four  British  officers,  at  the 
capture  of  Morella  and  its  garrison.  As  long  as  that  city 
remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Carlists,  it  was  a  rallying  cen- 
tre for  them— a  reminder  of  the  signal  defeat  of  the  army 
that  had  besieged  it.  Now  it  had  fallen  after  a  resistance 
that  could  not  but  be  considered  as  feeble.  The  Carlists  had, 
it  is  true,  other  strongholds  in  different  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, but  these  were  comparatively  insignificant,  and  would 
doubtless  open  their  gates  as  soon  as  detachments  of  Espar- 
tero's  army  appeared  before  them. 

Indeed,  the  weakness  of  the  defence  of  Morella  showed 
that  the  spirit  of  the  Carlists  was  already  broken.  Had  Ca- 
brera remained  among  them  to  cheer  and  encourage  them, 
the  defence  would  have  been  much  more  desperate,  though 
it  could  not  have  been  very  much  more  prolonged,  for  an- 
other day  or  two  would  have  seen  the  defences  so  destroyed 
that  the  place  would  have  been  untenable ;  but  the  fact  that 
Cabrera  was  away  wounded  and  sick  took  all  the  spirit  out 
of  the  defence.  The  first  offer  of  the  governor  to  surrender 
if  the  garrison  were  allowed  to  march  out  and  cross  a  foreign 
frontier,  was  no  doubt  the  result  of  an  order  that  Cabrera 


348  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

had  given  him  before  he  left,  when  he  found  that  he  was  no 
longer  able  to  defend  the  place,  and  probably  foreshadowed 
the  plan  that  Cabrera  himself  thought  it  likely  he  would  be 
compelled  to  adopt. 

Espartero's  triumph  had  been  complete.  He  had,  indeed, 
proved  the  saviour  of  Spain.  When  he  began — one  among 
half  a  dozen  generals — he  found  jealousy  and  jobbery  every- 
where rampant.  Most  of  the  generals  thought  only  of  avoid- 
ing defeat,  and  not  of  gaining  victory.  So  long  as  the  Car- 
lists  left  them  alone  they  were  well  content  to  allow  them  to 
march  almost  at  will  through  the  country.  The  army,  which 
was  ill-clothed  and  ill-fed,  was  wholly  deficient  in  artillery, 
and  had  but  a  very  small  body  of  cavalry.  Worst  of  all,  the 
government  was  rotten  to  the  core.  Corruption  prevailed  in 
every  office,  and  positions  were  only  secured  through  favour- 
itism, merit  counting  not  at  all.  Little  by  little  Espartero 
changed  all  this.  His  honesty,  his  talent,  and  dogged  perse- 
verance triumphed  over  his  adversaries.  The  people  at  large 
came  to  regard  him  as  their  one  hope,  and  answered  his  ap- 
peal to  them  by  overthrowing  the  government  that  had 
thwarted  him,  and  making  him  towards  the  end  of  the  war 
practically  Dictator  of  Spain. 

He  had  all  along  distinguished  himself  by  the  courtesy 
with  which  he  had  treated  the  British  commissioners.  He 
had  relied  a  great  deal  upon  the  advice  of  Colonel  Wylde, 
who  was  senior  of  that  body,  and  had  himself  set,  as  a  rule, 
an  example  of  clemency  to  the  captives  except  when  he  was 
driven  by  the  massacre  of  prisoners  taken  by  the  Carlists  to 
carry  out  striking  reprisals.  Many  of  the  other  generals,  on 
the  other  hand,  kept  the  commissioners  at  arm's  length,  and 
would  not  only  give  them  no  information  themselves,  but 
ordered  their  officers  not  to  do  so.  It  is  not  difficult  to 
understand  the  feeling  that  actuated  them.  These  officers 
were  unwelcome  at  their  head-quarters  not  because  they  were 
there  to  plead  the  cause  of  humanity,  but  because  they  fur- 
nished the  British  government  with  accurate  reports  of  the 


THE    END    OF    A    FEUD  34:9 

movements  and  conduct  of  the  army,  and  thus  exposed  the 
falsity  of  their  own  bombastic  reports  of  their  doings. 

"  For  my  part,  I  am  heartily  glad  it  is  over,"  Arthur  said. 
"I  certainly  do  not  mean  to  remain  to  witness  the  expul- 
sion of  Cabrera  and  the  stamping  out  of  the  last  embers  of 
disaffection.  I  have  had  six  years  of  it,  and  I  intend  to 
send  in  my  resignation  as  soon  as  I  arrive  at  Madrid.  When 
I  came  out  it  was  with  the  intention  of  serving  merely  for 
the  term  of  my  enlistment,  a  couple  of  years;  then  I  had 
the  good  fortune  to  be  transferred  to  the  army  when  the 
Legion  was  broken  up,  though  I  still  thought  that  it  was  but 
for  another  year  or  so.  However,  I  have  no  reason  to  regret 
that  I  have  seen  it  through.  I  have  been  fortunate  in  all 
respects — very  fortunate  in  serving  under  so  kind  and  good 
a  chief  as  Colonel  Wylde." 

"What  are  you  thinking  of  doing  if  you  leave  the 
army  ? "  * 

"  I  have  a  small  estate  waiting  for  me  at  home,  which  has 
been  little  by  little  piling  up  capital  for  me  during  my  ab- 
sence. I  shall  be  a  good  deal  more  fit  to  take  charge  of  it 
now,  and  to  settle  down,  than  I  should  have  been  if  I  had 
never  come  out  here." 

"It  seems  a  pity,  too,"  Colonel  Lacy  said.  "You  have 
done  very  good  service,  and  Colonel  Wylde  has  always  re- 
ported well  of  you.  You  have  been  a  captain  now  for  four 
years,  and  you  will  be  sure  to  get  your  majority  as  a  reward 
for  your  work  here." 

"  Yes,  sir ;  if  I  had  entered  the  army  for  the  purpose  of 
staying  in  it,  I  should  have  every  reason  for  congratulating 
myself  on  my  good  fortune;  but  as  I  did  not,  I  should  not 
value  the  majority,  for  which  indeed  I  feel  myself  much  too 
young.  Besides,  I  should  be  altogether  unfit  for  it.  I 
learned  the  work  of  a  subaltern  for  a  year,  in  a  hard,  rough 
school,  where  there  was  no  occasion  to  know  more  than  the 
simplest  movements.  For  the  past  four  years  I  have  not 
commanded  a  corporal's  guard,  and  I  could  no  more  drill  a 


350  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

battalion  of  British  troops  on  a  parade-ground  than  fly,  so 
I  have  quite  made  up  my  mind  to  leave,  and  have  indeed  only 
held  on  for  the  past  two  years  in  the  belief  that  the  war 
would  speedily  come  to  an  end." 

"  Well,  Hallett,  of  course  you  know  your  own  business 
best;  and  I  am  quite  sure  that  if  I  had  a  nice  little  estate 
waiting  for  me  in  England,  I  should  take  the  same  course 
as  you  are  going  to  do." 


CHAPTER  XXI 

HOME 

THE  next  day  Arthur  mounted,  and,  after  saying  good- 
bye to  his  friends,  started  for  Madrid.  He  was  still 
wearing  his  bandages,  but  as  a  measure  of  precaution  rather 
than  as  a  necessity,  for  the  bones  had  knit  well,  and  Espar- 
tero's  surgeon  had  told  him  that  he  could  safely  give  them 
up.  Arthur,  however,  said  that  he  was  accustomed  to  them 
now,  and  as  they  were  no  great  inconvenience,  it  would  be 
folly  to  run  the  smallest  risk,  and  he  would  therefore  keep 
them  on  for  another  month.  Roper  was  in  high  glee  at  the 
thought  that  he  was  going  to  return  home. 

"When  we  get  to  Madrid,"  Arthur  said,  "we  will  both 
lay  aside  our  uniforms,  and  you  will  cease  to  be  my  servant. 
We  can  return  to  the  position  we  formerly  occupied  towards 
each  other,  that  of  good  friends,  though  of  course  much 
closer  ones  than  of  old.  We  have  gone  through  many  dan- 
gers together,  and  it  will  only  be  a  matter  of  regret  to  me 
that  you  should  have  been  in  the  position  of  my  servant." 

"  I  won't  give  it  up  when  we  get  to  Madrid,  sir.  At  any 
rate  I  shall  remain  your  servant  till  we  embark  on  board  ship 
for  England,  after  which  you  will  have  no  more  occasion  for 
me,  and  I  shall  be  proud  to  become  your  humble  friend.  I 


HOME  351 

suppose,  sir,"  he  said  with  a  quiet  smile,  "  you  are  not  think- 
ing of  going  back  to  England  alone  ? " 

"  Not  if  I  can  help  it,"  Arthur  answered.  "  Of  course 
nothing  is  settled,  but  I  don't  fancy  that  I  shall  have  to  go 
back  alone.  If  I  do  I  shall  return  shortly,  but  I  hope  to 
manage  everything  satisfactorily  before  I  leave." 

Arthur  had  heard  regularly  every  six  months  from  his 
uncle,  who  had  of  late  said  he  hoped  he  would  soon  leave  the 
army  and  return  home,  and  in  his  last  letter,  written  after 
he  had  come  of  age,  had  said:  "I  may  now  tell  you,  my 
dear  Arthur,  that  the  will  of  your  father  contains  a  secret 
clause  giving  me  the  power,  if  I  considered  you  fit  to  under- 
take the  responsibility,  of  handing  your  estates  over  to  you 
when  you  came  of  age.  I  must  say  that  it  seems  to  me  you 
are  quite  fit  to  assume  that  responsibility.  Your  letters  do 
not  tell  me  a  very  great  deal  about  yourself,  but  it  is  clear 
that,  as  in  these  five  years  you  have  won  your  way  from  be- 
ing a  private  to  holding  a  commission  as  a  captain,  you 
ought  certainly  to  possess  a  sufficient  amount  of  steadiness 
and  knowledge  of  the  world  to  fit  you  for  the  not  very  oner- 
ous duties  of  a  country  squire.  You  do  not  tell  us  very  much 
about  yourself,  and  we  all  consider  your  letters  in  that  re- 
spect very  unsatisfactory;  but  it  is  evident  that  you  have 
seen  a  great  deal  of  service,  and  must  have  cured  yourself 
of  that  tendency  to  wildness  that  caused  us  such  trouble  be- 
fore you  left.  In  fact  we  all  feel  proud  of  you,  holding,  as 
you  do,  the  appointment  as  one  of  the  British  assistant  com- 
missioners. 

"  I  own  that  it  has  been  a  surprise  to  me,  but  my  wife 
declares  that  she  was  always  sure  you  would  do  well,  and 
I  need  hardly  say  that  the  girls  are  very  fond  of  parading 
their  cousin,  a  captain  in  the  army  and  royal  commissioner 
in  Spain,  among  their  acquaintances.  Of  course  I  do  not 
urge  you  to  return — that  is  a  question  entirely  for  you  to 
decide ;  but  I  say  that,  in  virtue  of  the  power  given  to  me  by 
your  father,  I  shall  have  no  hesitation  in  placing  you  on 


352  WITH    THE    BKITISH    LEGION 

your  return  in  possession  of  your  father's  estates  and  the 
accumulation  of  rents  during  your  minority." 

Communication  was  slow,  and  this  letter  had  only  been 
received  by  Arthur  a  few  days  before  his  seizure  by  the 
monks.  It  had  been  a  great  satisfaction  to  him,  as  he  would 
now  be  able  to  maintain  Mercedes  in  a  position  not  alto- 
gether inferior  to  that  to  which  she  had  been  accustomed. 
He  had,  however,  not  spoken  on  the  subject  even  to  Leon, 
preferring  to  continue  to  stand  on  the  same  basis  as  before. 
He  travelled  by  easy  stages  to  Madrid,  and  was  most  warmly 
greeted  on  his  return  there  by  Leon  and  the  girls. 

"Rather  a  curious  thing  has  happened  since  you  have 
been  away,"  Leon  said,  when  they  were  chatting  together  on 
the  first  evening  after  his  return.  "  I  have  received  a  letter 
from  Don  Silvio.  I  don't  understand  it,  but  it  is,  as  far  as 
it  goes,  very  satisfactory;  still  I  cannot  quite  make  it  out. 
He  writes  to  say  that  he  regrets  very  deeply  his  conduct 
towards  us  and  you,  and  implores  our  pardon.  He  says  that 
henceforth  we  need  fear  no  annoyance  whatever  from  him, 
and  that  he  can  only  hope  that  some  day  he  may  resume  his 
former  position  as  a  friend  of  our  family.  He  says  that  of 
course  we  shall  have  heard  from  you  the  reasons  that  have 
brought  about  this  entire  change  in  his  sentiments,  and  that 
we  can  easily  understand  that  after  your  treatment  of  him 
he  is  an  entirely  changed  man.  I  received  this  letter  a  fort- 
night ago.  I  really  did  not  know  how  to  answer  it,  so  have 
waited  to  get  some  explanation  from  you  as  to  the  circum- 
stances that  have  brought  about  this  change  in  his  senti- 
ments, in  which  I  own  I  have  no  belief  whatever.  Indeed  I 
consider  that  the  letter  was  only  written  to  put  us  off  our 
guard.  Certainly  in  the  letters  you  have  written  since  you 
left  there  has  been  nothing  that  would  explain  the  matter, 
except  indeed  that  you  said  you  had  had  a  trifling  affair 
with  some  brigands  and  had  got  the  better  of  them,  though 
at  the  cost  of  a  slight  wound.  Had  this  anything  to  do 
with  it?" 


HOME  353 

"  It  had,  Leon.  It  was  not  worth  writing  about,  although 
the  affair  was  a  somewhat  sharp  one,  and  I  had  not  intended 
to  say  anything  about  it;  but  as  it  has  apparently  brought 
about  a  very  satisfactory  state  of  things,  I  suppose  I  had 
better  tell  it." 

He  then  related  how  Roper  had,  as  he  thought,  recognized 
Don  Silvio;  how  they  had  discovered  that  they  were  really 
watched;  the  precautions  they  had  taken  against  attack; 
and  gave  an  account  of  the  fight,  telling  how  the  seven  men 
who  had  attacked  them  had  been  killed  in  the  encounter. 
"Don  Silvio  fought  hard,"  he  said  carelessly,  "but  I  had 
him  at  my  mercy.  Reflecting,  however,  that  I  had  injured 
him  by  winning  the  affections  of  Mercedes,  and  that  I  had 
certainly  behaved  wrongly  in  fooling  with  him  in  that  duel, 
I  let  him  go." 

"  You  let  him  go  ? "  Leon  said  in  astonishment.  "  Do  you 
mean  to  say  that  when  you  had  him  at  your  mercy  you 
actually  let  him  go  ?  " 

"  That  is  what  it  came  to,  I  suppose,"  Arthur  admitted. 
"  I  had  him  by  the  throat  at  the  edge  of  the  precipice,  then 
it  occurred  to  me  that  the  man  had  good  grounds  for  com- 
plaint against  me.  But  for  me  he  might  have  married  Mer- 
cedes, and  as  over  and  above  this  I  had  made  him  the  laugh- 
ing-stock of  Madrid,  it  was  natural  that  he  should  have 
endeavoured  to  get  rid  of  me.  I  therefore  concluded  that  I 
ought  not  to  take  his  life;  so  I  released  him  and  explained 
this  to  him,  and  we  parted,  I  think,  very  good  friends." 

Leon  gazed  at  him  in  astonishment.  "  By  San  Paolo, 
Arthur,  but  you  are  an  extraordinary  man!  The  idea  of 
sparing  that  fellow  when  you  had  him  at  your  mercy !  You 
astound  me ! " 

"  It  was  good  of  you,  Arthur,  wonderfully  good ! "  Mer- 
cedes exclaimed,  "  but  just  the  thing  that  you  would  do.  I 
am  proud  of  you!  Of  course  I  have  always  been  proud  of 
you,  but  more  now  than  ever.  And  do  you  think  he  is  sincere 
in  this  letter  he  wrote  to  Leon  ? " 


354:  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

"I  do  think  so.  From  the  way  in  which  he  spoke  to  me 
I  believe  that  he  was  thoroughly  sincere,  and  that  he  felt 
that  he  had  been  in  the  wrong,  and  that  the  feud  between  us 
was  now  at  an  end.  I  think,  Leon,  you  can  now  answer  his 
letter,  saying  that  you  have  seen  me  and  heard  my  explana- 
tion, and  that  you  are  heartily  glad  that  the  feud  is  over 
and  are  ready  again  to  receive  him  as  a  friend." 

"  As  to  that  I  should  be  only  too  glad,"  Leon  said.  "  Until 
this  thing  happened  I  always  esteemed  him,  as  you  may  sup- 
pose by  my  consenting  to  give  Mercedes  to  him.  He  has 
not  injured  me,  and  if  you  have  brought  yourself  to  forgive 
his  attempts  upon  your  life  it  is  little  enough  for  me  to 
shake  hands  with  him  again.  I  will  write  and  tell  him  so 
to-morrow  morning,  and  express  my  willingness  that  by- 
gones shall  be  bygones,  and  that  our  friendship  can  be  again 
renewed.  And  now  to  return  to  a  still  more  interesting 
subject.  What  are  your  plans?" 

"As  I  have  already  told  you,  I  shall  to-morrow  send  in 
my  resignation.  The  next  step  must  necessarily  depend 
upon  you  a  great  deal.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  would  be  ex- 
ceedingly difficult  for  Mercedes  and  myself  to  be  married 
here.  The  ceremony  could  be  performed  at  the  British  Em- 
bassy, but  for  my  part  I  would  much  rather  that  it  took 
place  in  England ;  and  I  should  think,  Leon,  that  that  would 
also  be  most  pleasant  for  you  all.  Our  marriage  here  would 
undoubtedly  cause  a  considerable  amount  of  feeling.  You 
would  be  blamed  very  strongly  for  giving  your  sister  to  a 
foreigner  and  a  heretic,  and  things  might  be  made  very  un- 
pleasant for  you  and  the  girls.  My  own  idea  is  that  the 
best  thing  possible  would  be  for  us  all  to  travel  quietly  down 
to  Cadiz,  and  thence  take  ship  to  England.  There  we  could 
be  married  comfortably.  While  preparing  for  that,  I  could 
see  that  my  place  was  made  ready  to  receive  us ;  then  I  hope 
you  would  stay  with  us  for  some  time  before  returning  home. 
In  that  way  you  would  avoid  all  trouble  here,  for  whereas 
a  wedding  in  the  face  of  the  public  of  Madrid  would  cause 


HOME  355 

no  end  of  scandal,  a  quiet  marriage  in  England  would 
scarcely  be  noticed." 

Leon  was  silent  for  a  minute,  and  then  said:  "I  think  a 
good  deal  is  to  be  said  in  favour  of  your  plan.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  marriage  would  create  much  less  com- 
ment and  talk  than  if  it  were  to  take  place  here.  Secondly, 
I  should  like  to  see  the  new  home  in  which  Mercedes  is  to 
be  established — not  to  say  that  I  should  certainly  like  to 
see  something  more  of  England ;  but  I  don't  know  about  the 
girls." 

"  Oh,  Leon !  "  both  exclaimed,  "  you  would  never  leave  us 
behind!  Why,  of  course  we  should  want  just  as  much  as 
you  do  to  be  at  Mercedes*  wedding.  You  never  can  really 
think  of  leaving  us  here.  What  reason  could  there  be  why 
we  shouldn't  go  with  you  ? " 

"  Well,  you  see,  in  the  first  place  you  don't  speak  Eng- 
lish." 

"  Nor  do  you,  Leon,  at  least  not  well." 

"  Well,  you  know  that  in  point  of  fact  I  do  speak  it  pretty 
fairly.  However,  it's  too  important  a  matter  to  be  settled 
offhand,  girls.  Suppose,  for  example,  that  one  of  you  took 
it  into  your  head  to  marry  an  English  gentleman  ? " 

"Well,  Leon,"  Inez  said  mischievously,  "as  it  appears  to 

us  that  you  are  likely  before  long  to  enter  the  married  state 

rourself,  I  should  have  thought  that  you  would  be  very  glad 

get  us  off  your  hands,  even  to  Englishmen.  I  am  sure  if 
all  Englishmen  were  like  Arthur  I  should  have  no  objection 
at  all.  I  have  always  been  lamenting  that  I  did  not  go  with 
,  instead  of  Mercedes,  to  our  country  place,  and  then  per- 

ips  I  might  have  had  the  chance  that  Mercedes  has  had." 

They  all  laughed. 

"Well,  really,  I  will  think  it  over,  Inez.  It  might  be 
managed,  and  the  three  months'  trip  would  do  us  all  good 
after  the  stormy  time  we  have  been  having  here." 

"  I  am  sure  it  would,"  Arthur  said ;  "  so  I  think,  girls,  we 
consider  that  settled." 


356  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

"  Well,  of  course  we  could  not  think  of  going  for  a  month 
yet,"  Mercedes  said.  "  You  must  remember  that  we  shall  all 
have  preparations  to  make." 

"  But  you  can  get  things  made  in  England,"  Arthur 
urged. 

"  No,  sir,"  Mercedes  said.  "  We  are  not  going  away  with- 
out a  sufficient  supply  of  clothes.  At  any  rate,  we  shall 
want  travelling  suits,  and  a  lot  of  other  things,  though  I 
admit  that  I  should  prefer  getting  some  of  my  dresses  in 
England.  I  don't  want  to  have  everyone  staring  at  me,  when 
I  go  about,  as  a  foreigner." 

"  Well,  of  course  you  must  have  time,  Mercedes,  and  I 
don't  think  a  month  is  very  unreasonable;  besides,  all  sorts 
of  papers  will  have  to  be  got  ready  and  drawn  up." 

"  Certainly,"  Leon  said.  "  As  Mercedes'  guardian  and  the 
head  of  the  family,  it  is  my  duty  to  see  that  everything  is 
done  regularly.  As  far  as  you  are  concerned,  Arthur,  I 
should  be  quite  content  to  have  no  settlements  of  any 
kind;  but  it  would  be  unseemly  for  a  daughter  of  our 
house  to  marry  in  the  haphazard  way  of  a  small  farmer's 
daughter." 

"  I  agree  with  you  thoroughly,  Leon,  but  I  think  it  would 
be  better  for  you  to  have  the  settlements  drawn  up  in  Eng- 
land. You  may  calculate  that  it  will  be  a  month  after  my 
return  before  things  will  be  ready,  which  will  give  plenty  of 
time  for  you  to  have  the  deeds  drawn  up  there.  You  see, 
the  laws  of  your  country  are  not  the  same  as  ours." 

"I  should  say  they  had  better  be  drawn  up  in  both  coun- 
tries," Leon  said.  "  Mercedes'  income  is  a  charge  upon  a 
Spanish  estate,  and  the  people  acting  as  her  trustees  here 
would  be  bound  by  Spanish  law  only.  I  think  that  when 
these  troubles  are  all  over,  and  land  rises  in  value  again,  it 
would  be  best  that  the  estates  should  be  sold.  Mercedes 
could  then  invest  her  money  in  England.  The  other  girls' 
shares  would  be  held  in  trust  for  them  till  they  marry." 

"That  would  certainly  be  a  very  good  plan,  Leon.    You 


HOME  357 

will  understand,  of  course,  that  I  wish  Mercedes'  fortune  to 
be  entirely  under  her  own  control." 

Arthur  spent  a  very  pleasant  month  in  Madrid.  He  was, 
at  the  regent's  request,  very  frequently  at  the  palace,  and 
when  he  informed  her  that  Mercedes  was  going  to  England 
to  be  married  to  him,  she  presented  her  with  a  splendid  suite 
of  diamonds. 

"  You  see,  Captain  Hallett,"  she  said,  "  you  would  not  let 
me  do  for  you  a  quarter  of  what  I  wished  to  do;  but  at 
least  you  cannot  interfere  between  me  and  Donna  Mercedes 
de  Balen.  I  wish  greatly  that  you  had  permanently  settled 
here.  I  would  have  made  you  a  Grand  Duke  of  Spain,  and 
there  would  be  pleasure  in  knowing  that  my  daughter  would 
have  one  absolutely  disinterested  and  faithful  friend.  My 
own  health  is  not  good.  I  have  had  a  terribly  anxious  time 
for  the  past  eight  years.  I  have  been  surrounded  by  men 
whom  I  despise.  I  have  seen  how  few  of  them  care  for  the 
cause  to  which  they  profess  to  be  devoted,  and  think  only 
of  themselves  and  their  own  interests.  Fortunately,  should 
anything  happen  to  me,  I  shall  leave  her  in  Espartero's 
hands  with  a  certain  knowledge  that  he  will  protect  and 
guard  her  during  her  minority." 

"  I  trust  sincerely,  madam,  that  there  will  be  no  occasion 
for  him  to  assume  such  a  charge;  but  I  thoroughly  agree 
with  you  that  should  he  have  to  do  so,  he  will  perform  it 
well  and  honourably." 

Before  leaving,  Leon  and  the  girls  made  no  formal  fare- 
well visits  to  their  friends.  They  knew  that  if  their  inten- 
tions were  announced  there  would  be  a  storm  of  opposition, 
and  that  all  their  friends  and  the  members  of  the  families 
with  which  they  were  connected  would  move  heaven  and 
earth  to  try  and  dissuade  them.  Mercedes'  engagement  had 
never  been  formally  announced,  and  although  her  attach- 
ment for  Arthur  might  be  suspected  by  the  intimates  of  the 
family,  nothing  could  be  said  until  their  betrothal  was  made 
public. 


358  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION 

At  last  the  preparations  were  all  complete,  and  the  deeds 
drawn  up  and  signed.  Leon  had  made  the  usual  stipulation 
that  while  any  boys  born  of  the  marriage  should  be  brought 
up  in  their  father's  religion,  the  girls  should  be  brought  up 
in  that  of  their  mother. 

They  journeyed  by  easy  stages — the  men  on  horseback,  the 
girls  in  the  family  coach — down  to  Cadiz,  where  berths  had 
already  been  secured  on  board  a  ship  sailing  for  England. 
The  voyage  was  a  slow  but  fair  one.  After  the  first  day  or 
two  none  of  the  party  suffered  from  sea-sickness.  Roper 
had  refused  to  allow  a  passage  to  be  taken  for  him  aft  with 
the  others. 

"  It  is  kind  of  you  to  wish  it,  sir,  but  I  should  not  be  com- 
fortable. If  you  were  travelling  alone  it  would  be  differ- 
ent, but  the  count  and  his  sisters  have  only  been  accustomed 
to  look  upon  me  as  your  servant.  They  are  always  very  kind 
and  friendly  to  me.  They  know  that  we  have  gone  through 
a  very  great  deal  together,  but  I  think  they  would  feel — and 
I  am  sure  I  should  be — very  uncomfortable  if  I  were  to  sit 
at  table  with  them  on  terms  of  equality." 

"  Well,  it  must  be  as  you  wish,  Roper,  but  I  am  quite  sure 
they  do  not  feel  it  so.  They  know  that  I  regard  you,  and 
always  have  done  so,  as  a  friend;  that  we  have  gone  through 
many  adventures  together,  besides  the  one  in  which  you 
aided  me  to  save  Mercedes  from  Cabrera.  However,  it  shall 
be  as  you  like." 

The  girls  and  Leon  after  the  first  two  days  thoroughly 
enjoyed  the  voyage,  which  was  a  novelty  to  them.  On  ar- 
riving in  London  the  count  took  private  rooms  at  an  hotel, 
and  for  two  or  three  days  Arthur  went  about  with  them, 
enjoying  the  sights  as  much  as  they  did,  as  he  had  never 
before  been  to  London.  Then  he  travelled  down  to  Liver- 
pool by  the  North-Western  Railway — then  only  recently 
opened. 

He  had  written  briefly  to  his  uncle  on  his  arrival,  men- 
tioning the  day  on  which  he  should  come  down.  When  he 


HOME  359 

reached  Liverpool,  therefore,  he  drove  from  the  station  to 
his  house. 

Although  he  had  written  home  regularly  once  every  three 
or  four  months,  he  had  simply  mentioned  the  positions  he 
held,  and  the  scenes  he  had  witnessed,  and  had  said  but  very 
little  as  to  his  private  adventures. 

When  he  drove  up  to  the  door  his  uncle  and  aunt  both 
came  out  to  meet  him.  They  paused  in  astonishment.  "  Is 
it  possible  that  you  are  Arthur  ? "  Mr.  Hallett  asked. 

"  Not  only  possible,  but  a  fact,  uncle." 

"  Well,  we  are  delighted  to  see  you  home  again,  my  boy ; 
but  we  certainly  did  not  expect  to  see  a  giant." 

"  Nor  do  you,  uncle.  I  am  only  six  feet  one,  not  at  all  an 
out-of-the-way  height." 

"  Well,  I  must  kiss  you,  my  dear,"  his  aunt  said ;  "  but  I 
almost  feel  as  if  I  were  taking  a  liberty." 

"  Nonsense,  aunt !  I  don't  think  I  have  changed  much 
since  I  went  away;  but  of  course  in  six  years  I  have  grown 
a  bit  bigger.  And  how  are  you,  girls?  How  are  you 
both?" 

They  went  into  the  house. 

"  Well,  Arthur,"  his  uncle  said,  looking  at  him  closely,  "  it 
may  have  been  only  six  years  since  you  left  us,  but  by  your 
appearance  I  should  have  thought  that  it  was  ten." 

"  I  suppose  I  do  look  older  than  I  am,  uncle.  Everyone 
takes  me  for  three  or  four  years  older,  but  I  can  tell  you  it 
has  been  a  most  fortunate  thing  for  me.  I  should  never 
have  been  made  a  captain  if  they  had  had  an  idea  that  I  was 
only  eighteen  years  old." 

"Well,  Arthur,  I  suppose  you  have  quite  given  up  your 
tendency  to  get  into  scrapes,"  his  aunt  said. 

"I  don't  think  I  have,  aunt,"  Arthur  laughed.  "I  have 
been  in  a  good  many  of  what  you  might  call  scrapes  since  I 
went  away,  but  as  you  see,  I  have  come  all  right  through 
them.  The  only  casualty  that  I  have  had  is,  that  I  got  a 
couple  of  ribs  broken  in  a  fight  with  some  brigands  three 


360  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGIOtf 

months  ago.  And  now  I  am  going  to  astonish  you.  I  am 
going  to  get  married." 

There  was  a  general  exclamation  of  astonishment.  "  You 
are  not  serious,  Arthur  ? " 

"Never  was  more  serious  in  my  life." 

"  And  is  it  to  a  Spanish  lady  ? " 

"  Yes,  uncle.  She  is  the  sister  of  a  count  who  is  a  great 
friend  of  mine,  and  I  am  sure  you  will  say  when  you  see 
her  that  she  is  a  most  charming  young  lady.  She  is  a  year 
younger  than  I  am,  and  is  reasonably  endowed  with  the 
world's  goods." 

His  aunt  was  the  first  to  rally  from  her  astonishment. 
"It  sounds  very  nice,  Arthur,"  she  said,  "and  I  have  no 
doubt  that  we  shall  congratulate  you  very  much  when  we 
get  to  know  her;  but  of  course  it  has  come  as  a  little  shock 
to  us." 

"  I  expected  it  would,  aunt.  I  know  that  English  people 
are  prejudiced  against  foreigners.  Of  course,  I  have  been 
living  in  Spain  for  six  years,  and  have  got  over  any  ideas  of 
that  sort." 

"  But  is  she  a  Catholic,  Arthur? "  his  aunt  asked  in  rather 
an  awed  tone. 

"  All  Spanish  ladies  are  Catholics,  aunt ;  but,  as  this  par- 
ticular one  is  by  no  means  a  bigoted  one,  we  are  not  likely 
to  quarrel  over  it.  She  already  speaks  English  well,  and  I 
can  assure  you  that  you  will  find  her  charming." 

"  And  you  say  she  has  a  fortune  ? " 

"Yes,  she  has  about  twenty-five  thousand  pounds  in  her 
own  right." 

"  Well,  that  is  comfortable ;  anyhow,  you  will  not  do  badly 
in  the  money  way.  Your  own  estate  was  worth  about  one 
thousand  pounds  a  year,  but  as  it  has  been  accumulating 
since  you  were  ten  years  old,  and  as  I  have  always  invested 
the  rents  carefully,  it  will  bring  you  in  about  as  *  much 
more." 

"  That  is  not  bad  at  all,  uncle ;  and  I  may  add  that  I  have 


HOME  361 

twenty  thousand  pounds  of  my  own  lying  to  my  order  at 
the  Bank  of  Liverpool." 

"  Twenty  thousand,  Arthur !  Why,  how  in  the  world  did 
you  get  that  ?  " 

"I  did  a  little  service  to  the  queen.  It  really  was  not 
worth  troubling  about,  but  she  and  the  government  be- 
tween them  insisted  on  making  me  a  present  of  that  sum. 
I  may  mention  also  that  I  am  a  member  of  the  first  class  of 
the  Order  of  San  Fernando  and  a  Knight  of  Isabella  the 
Catholic.  Now,  girls,  I  should  like  to  see  you  curtsy  to  me. 
So  you  see,  uncle,  that  my  running  away  and  joining  the 
British  Legion  has  not  turned  out  so  badly." 

"  No,  indeed,  Arthur.  Of  course,  you  will  tell  us  all  about 
it  presently;  as  yet  we  can  only  wonder.  I  suppose  you  in- 
tend to  go  back  to  Spain  shortly  to  fetch  your  wife  home  ? " 

"  No,  I  have  no  idea  of  returning  to  Spain  for  an  indefi- 
nite time.  Donna  Mercedes  de  Balen — that  is  her  full  name, 
uncle — accompanied  me  home  to  England  under  the  protec- 
tion of  her  brother,  the  Count  Leon  de  Balen,  whose  name  I 
have  more  than  once  mentioned  in  my  letters,  and  with  them 
came  their  two  sisters,  Donna  Inez  and  Donna  Dolores,  two 
very  charming  young  ladies.  They  will  return  home  with 
their  brother  in  three  or  four  months'  time.  After  our  mar- 
riage takes  place  they  will  travel  about  England." 

"You  certainly  seem  to  have  the  whole  thing  arranged, 
Arthur,  and  it  appears  to  me  that  you  are  as  headstrong  as 
you  were  when  a  boy." 

"  I  don't  think  so,  uncle.  I  have  been  doing  a  man's  work 
for  six  years,  and,  though  I  say  it  myself,  have  done  it  fairly 
well.  Now  I  have  finished  wandering,  and  am  going  to 
settle  down  for  good." 

They  talked  until  a  very  late  hour  in  the  evening.  Ar- 
thur refused  to  satisfy  their  curiosity  as  to  the  service  he 
had  rendered  to  the  queen,  and  said  nothing  about  his  pri- 
vate adventures.  He  told  them  principally  about  his  work 
in  the  Legion,  and  afterwards  as  an  assistant  commissioner. 


362  WITH    THE    BRITISH    LEGION" 

"Now,  what  is  your  first  business  going  to  be,  Arthur?" 
his  uncle  asked  when  they  met  the  next  morning. 

"  The  very  first  thing  is  to  go  over  to  my  place.  I  have 
no  doubt  you  have  had  it  kept  in  good  order;  but  it  is  cer- 
tain that  great  changes  will  be  needed  before  I  bring  Mer- 
cedes home  there.  I  should  wish  you  and  aunt  and  the  girls 
to  go  over  there  with  me  and  give  me  the  benefit  of  your 
opinions  as  to  the  alterations  to  be  made.  It  will  save  time 
if  we  drive  first  to  some  of  the  best  builders  and  upholsterers 
in  town,  and  get  them  to  send  out  men  an  hour  and  a  half 
or  so  after  we  start,  to  meet  us  there.  I  think,"  he  said, 
turning  to  his  aunt,  "that  the  wedding  will  take  place  in 
London,  and  hope  that  you  will  all  come  up  and  be  present." 

"You  quite  take  my  breath  away,  Arthur,  with  your 
impetuosity." 

"  Well,  aunt,  when  a  thing  has  to  be  done  it  seems  to 
me  that  the  sooner  it  is  done  the  better.  When  it  is  over 
we  shall  go  away  for  a  fortnight  or  so,  and  when  we  come 
home  the  count  and  his  sisters  will  meet  us.  The  idea  is 
that  they  shall  spend  about  three  weeks  with  us,  and  that 
we  shall  then  travel  with  them  for  a  month." 

"  Well,  James,"  Mrs.  Hallett  said,  "  it  seems  to  me  that 
the  programme  is  a  very  good  one.  The  girls  have  never 
been  up  to  London,  and  I  have  not  been  up  there  since  we 
were  married.  It  is  nothing  of  a  journey  now  that  the  rail- 
way is  open.  I  am  sure  you  want  a  holiday,  too;  you  have 
not  had  one  for  years.  Arthur  will  no  doubt  get  nice  lodg- 
ings for  us,  and  I  am  sure  we  shall  enjoy  the  trip  immensely. 
When  is  the  marriage  to  come  off,  Arthur  ? " 

"I  should  say  in  about  a  week  or  ten  days;  there  is  no 
conceivable  reason  why  we  should  wait  any  longer." 

"  In  that  case  it  is  only  three  weeks  till  your  home-coming. 
You  don't  suppose  that  the  alterations  you  propose  to  make 
could  be  carried  out  in  that  time  ? " 

"A  lot  can  be  done  with  money,  uncle,  and  I  don't  care 
what  I  spend.  At  any  rate,  a  portion  of  the  house  large 


HOME  363 

enough  to  hold  our  party  can  be  in  good  order  by  that  time, 
and  the  rest  must  be  finished  while  we  are  away." 

"  I  don't  know  how  I  can  give  up  my  work,"  Mr.  Hallett 
began;  but  Arthur  broke  in: 

"  My  dear  uncle,  you  need  not  say  that.  Your  head  clerk 
can  surely  manage  the  business  for  ten  days.  If  he  cannot, 
I  should  advise  you  to  sack  him  and  get  another.  Now,  if 
you  will  give  me  the  address  of  the  builder  and  upholsterer, 
I  will  drive  round  and  see  them  and  arrange  for  them  to  send 
men,  and  will  bring  the  carriage  to  the  door  in  an  hour's 
time." 

"Well,  I  cannot  go  to-day  anyhow,  Arthur." 

"  Well,  I  am  sorry  for  that,  uncle,  because  I  should  have 
liked  your  opinion.  However,  in  the  matter  of  furnishing 
and  so  on,  I  know  that  I  can  rely  upon  aunt." 

"But  I  cannot  understand,"  Mr.  Hallett  said,  "why  you 
didn't  get  married  out  there." 

"My  dear  uncle,  if  you  lived  in  Spain  you  would  very 
soon  find  out  the  amount  of  pressure  that  is  used  to  pre- 
vent a  young  lady  of  noble  family  from  marrying  a  Prot- 
estant and  a  stranger.  It  is  simply  enormous;  and  there- 
fore we  agreed  that  it  would  be  infinitely  better  for  us  to 
come  over  to  England.  When  a  thing  is  once  done,  it  is 
useless  to  say  anything  against  it.  The  priests  may  tear 
their  hair  over  what  they  will  consider  an  act  of  back- 
sliding on  the  part  of  Mercedes,  but  she  won't  hear  any- 
thing of  it." 

On  reaching  his  house  Arthur  found  that,  although  it  was 
in  a  fair  state  of  repair,  a  great  deal  must  be  done  to  meet 
his  requirements.  It  was  a  good  country  house,  but  not  a 
large  one,  and  he  decided  that  the  dining-room  must  be  en- 
larged, the  drawing-room  doubled  in  size,  a  boudoir  built 
adjoining  it,  and  several  new  bedrooms  added.  It  was 
clearly  impossible  to  do  all  this  in  three  weeks,  and  it  was 
decided  that  the  dining-room  should  be  left  for  the  present 
as  it  stood,  and  the  builder  promised  to  put  so  many  hands 


364  WITH  THE  BRITISH  LEGION 

to  work  that  the  drawing-room  and  boudoir  and  rooms  over 
them  should  be  finished  in  time.  The  stables  were  altogether 
condemned  and  would  have  to  be  rebuilt,  and  orders  were 
given  to  have  the  gardens  put  in  perfect  order  and  planted 
with  flowers  before  Arthur  returned  with  his  wife. 

"  It  is  a  large  order,"  the  builder  said,  "  but  as  you  say  that 
I  can  put  on  any  number  of  men,  I  think  I  can  guarantee  to 
get  it  finished." 

The  order  for  the  upholsterer  was  very  large,  as  the  whole 
house  was  to  be  refurnished,  and  there  was  much  consulta- 
tion between  Mrs.  Hallett  and  the  girls  as  to  the  patterns, 
etc.  However,  they  returned  in  the  evening  very  well  satis- 
fied with  the  work  they  had  done,  and  next  morning  Arthur 
went  to  town  again. 

He  found  that  a  special  licence  could  be  obtained  at  once, 
and  therefore  wrote  to  his  uncle  and  aunt  to  come  up  on 
the  following  day  by  an  afternoon  train.  He  met  them  at 
the  station  and  drove  with  them  to  lodgings  he  had  taken 
for  them  in  Clarges  Street. 

"  These  must  be  rather  expensive  rooms,"  Mr.  Hallett  said 
gravely. 

"My  dear  uncle,  that  makes  no  difference  to  you;  I  am 
going  to  pay  the  piper.  While  you  are  here,  you  will  be 
my  guests.  I  am  very  flush  of  money,  for  I  have  in  my  bank 
six  hundred  pounds  of  the  money  you  sent  me,  for  twenty 
pounds  a  year  in  addition  to  my  pay  quite  sufficed  for  my 
wants." 

Arthur  had  secured  a  room  for  himself  in  the  same  house, 
and  next  morning  after  breakfast  took  his  friends  to  visit 
Leon  and  his  sisters.  They  were  mutually  pleased  with  each 
other,  and  the  girls  pronounced  Mercedes  to  be  charming,1 
and  the  other  girls  almost  as  nice,  though  they  were  unable 
to  get  on  so  well  with  them,  as  Arthur  had  to  act  as  inter- 
preter. After  talking  for  an  hour  the  ladies  decided  to  go 
shopping  together,  while  Leon,  Arthur,  and  his  uncle  strolled 
through  the  town. 


HOME  365 

"  Well,  have  you  done  your  shopping  to  your  satisfaction, 
aunt?"  Arthur  said  when  they  met  again. 

"  Yes,  we  have  bought  loads  of  things.  I  am  quite  fright- 
ened to  think  what  your  uncle  will  say  when  he  gets  the 
bill." 

"  He  won't  get  the  bill  at  all,"  Arthur  said  quietly.  "  You 
are  my  guests,  and  I  am  going  to  stand  paymaster." 

"  Oh,  but  that  is  impossible,  Arthur.  We  have  bought 
almost  everything  new.  I  have  reckoned  it  roughly  up,  and 
it  will  come  to  over  a  hundred  and  twenty  pounds." 

"  If  it  would  come  to  two  hundred  and  forty  it  would  be 
all  the  better,"  Arthur  said.  "  You  don't  understand,  aunt. 
This  allowance  money  is  burning  in  my  pocket.  I  have  had 
no  means  of  spending  it  till  now,  and  I  am  going  to  indulge 
myself.  Please  say  no  more  about  it,  but  just  hand  me  the 
bills  and  I  will  see  them  paid.  Now,  you  will  really  hurt  me 
if  you  say  any  more." 

Leon  and  his  party  came  round  to  dinner,  which  Arthur 
had  ordered  to  be  sent  in  from  a  restaurant  in  Bond  Street. 

"How  did  you  and  Arthur  get  to  know  each  other,  Mer- 
cedes ? "  one  of  the  girls  asked. 

"  Well,  we  only  knew  each  other  from  his  knowing  our 
brother  up  to  the  time  when  he  saved  my  life." 

"Saved  your  life!  He  never  told  us  anything  about 
that." 

"  That  is  just  like  him !  "  Mercedes  said  impetuously.  "  It 
is  too  bad  of  him,  everyone  ought  to  know  it ; "  and  she  gave 
them  a  vivid  account  of  the  manner  in  which  he  had  rescued 
her.  After  that,  she  said,  "  What  could  I  do  but  marry  him  ? 
I  was  engaged  to  someone  else.  I  did  not  love  him,  you 
know;  but  is  was  a  proper  sort  of  engagement.  The  count 
was  a  man  of  good  family  and  a  friend  of  my  brother's.  He 
had  asked  Leon's  consent,  and  Leon  had  given  it,  so  there 
was  nothing  for  me  to  say.  But  after  Arthur  had  saved  my 
life,  of  course  it  was  different  altogether,  and  I  broke  off 
the  engagement.  It  was  more  than  a  year  after  that  before 


366  WITH   THE  BKITISH  LEGION 

I  became  engaged  to  Arthur.  He  declares  that  he  never 
suspected  I  cared  for  him,  though  really  I  am  afraid  I 
showed  it  very  much.  Then  Arthur  had  to  fight  a  duel  with 
the  count  and  wounded  him,  and  the  count  made  two  at- 
tempts on  his  life,  and  then  you  know  the  Church  interfered 
and  shut  Arthur  up  in  a  dungeon,  and  he  dug  his  way  out 
in  a  wonderful  way.  Have  you  not  heard  all  this  before  ? " 

"  No,  he  never  said  a  word  about  it  in  his  letters,"  Mrs. 
Hallett  said. 

"Mercedes,  you  are  chattering  too  much,"  Arthur  said. 
"  You  thought  a  great  deal  about  these  things,  but  there  was 
nothing  worth  telling." 

"I  am  the  best  judge  of  that,  sir,"  Mercedes  said,  tossing 
her  head.  "  You  go  on  talking  to  Leon  and  my  sisters." 

"  And  haven't  you  heard,  Mrs.  Hallett,"  she  said,  "  of  the 
wonderful  way  in  which  he  rescued  the  Regent  of  Spain  and 
the  little  Queen  when  they  were  carried  off  ? " 

"Not  a  word,  dear." 

"  Well  then,  I  shall  scold  him  very  much,"  Mercedes  said. 
"  When  he  has  done  so  many  splendid  things,  why  should  he 
not  speak  of  them  ?  " 

"I  think  he  might  have  told  us,  my  dear,"  Mrs.  Hallett 
said  gently,  "  but  I  suppose  he  thought  it  would  look  like 
bragging,  and  there  is  nothing  Englishmen  hate  more  than 
that.  Men  who  do  great  things  are  the  very  last  to  speak 
of  them." 

"  Ah  well,  I  will  tell  you  some  day  all  about  them,"  Mer- 
cedes said,  "  and  then  you  will  not  be  surprised  that  I  say 
he  is  one  of  the  most  wonderful  men  in  the  world,  and  why 
I,  and  Leon  and  my  sisters,  love  him  so." 

The  two  girls  looked  at  Arthur  with  wondering  eyes.  He 
had  always  been  rather  a  hero  with  them  in  his  young  days, 
and  they  could  quite  imagine  that  he  would  be  a  brave  sol- 
dier, but  they  had  never  dreamt  of  his  performing  such  deeds 
as  these. 

At  the  wedding  Roper,  who  had  at  once  on  his  arrival 


HOME 


367 


gone  down  to  see  his  family,  and  who  had  now  come  up  for 
the  purpose,  acted  as  Arthur's  best  man.  He  had  vainly 
endeavoured  to  excuse  himself.  Arthur  insisted  that  having 
for  six  years  been  his  best  friend,  he  should  certainly  occupy 
that  place  on  this  important  occasion. 

In  spite  of  the  effort  of  the  builders  the  house  was  not 
ready  for  habitation  at  the  time  fixed  on,  and  it  was  two 
months  before  the  whole  party  returned  together  from  their 
tour.  Roper  was  by  this  time  installed  on  a  farm  on  the 
estate.  When  Leon  returned  to  Spain  he  left  Inez  with  her 
sister,  and  six  months  later  she  married  a  neighbour  of  Ar- 
thur's, to  the  great  satisfaction  of  Mercedes;  and  neither  of 
them  has  once  regretted  that  she  has  exchanged  the  troubles 
and  struggles  of  her  native  land  for  the  peace  and  quiet  of 
England.  As  to  Arthur,  he  has  always  said  that  the  day  he 
enlisted  in  the  British  Legion  was  the  most  fortunate  one 
in  his  life. 


THE  END 


"Wherever  English  is  spoken  one  imagines  that  Mr.  Henty's 
name  is  known.  One  cannot  enter  a  schoolroom  or  look  at  a 
boy's  bookshelf  without  seeing  half-a-dozen  of  his  familiar 
volumes.  Mr.  Henty  is  no  doubt  the  most  successful  writer 
for  boys,  and  the  one  to  whose  new  volumes  they  look  forward 
every  Christmas  with  most  pleasure." — Review  of  Reviews. 


A  LIST   OF   BOOKS 
FOR  YOUNG  PEOPLE 

...  By ... 

G.  A.  HENTY 


Published  by 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

153  to  J57  Fifth  Avenue          &          &          New  York 

and  by 

BLACKIE  &  SON,  Limited,  GLASGOW 


THIS   YE.AR'8    BOOKS 

..  .'BY  ... 

G.    A.    HE,NTY. 


"  Among  writers  of  stories  of  adventures  for  boys  Mr.  Henty 
stands  in  the  very  first  rank."  —  Academy  (London). 


THE  TREASURE  OF  THE  INCAS 

A  Tale  of  Adventure  in  Peru.     With  8  full -page  Illustrations  by 
WAL  PAQET,  and  Map.    $1.20  net. 

Peru  and  the  hidden  treasures  of  her  ancient  kings  offer  Mr.  Henty 
a  most  fertile  field  for  a  stirring  story  of  adventure  in  his  most  engag- 
ing style.  In  an  effort  to  win  the  girl  of  his  heart,  the  hero  penetrates 
into  the  wilds  of  the  land  of  the  Incas.  Boys  who  have  learned  to 
look  for  Mr.  Henty's  books  will  follow  his  new  hero  in  his  adventurous 
and  romantic  expedition,  with  absorbing  interest.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
captivating  tales  Mr.  Henty  has  yet  written. 

WITH  KITCHENER  IN  THE  SOUDAN 

A  Story  of  Atbara  and  Omdurman.     With  10  full-page  Illustra- 
tions.   $1.20  net. 

Mr.  Henty  has  never  combined  history  and  thrilling  adventure  more 
skillfully  than  in  this  extremely  interesting  story.  It  is  not  in  boy 
nature  to  lay  it  aside  unfinished,  once  begun  ;  and  finished,  the  reader 
finds  himself  in  possession,  not  only  of  the  facts  and  the  true  atmos- 
phere of  Kitchener's  famous  Soudan  campaign,  but  of  the  Gordon 
tragedy  which  preceded  it  by  so  many  years  and  of  which  it  was  the 
outcome. 

WITH   THE  BRITISH  LEGION 

A  Story  of  the  Carlist  Uprising  of  1836.    Illustrated.     $1.20  net. 

Arthur  Hallet,  a  young  English  boy,  finds  himself  in  difficulty  at 
home,  through  certain  harmless  school  escapades,  and  enlists  in  the 
famous  "  British  L«-gion,"  which  was  then  embarking  for  Spain  to  take 
part  in  the  campaign  to  repreas  the  Carlist  uprising  of  1836.  Arthur 
shows  his  mettle  in  the  first  fight,  distinguishes  hinuelf  by  daring  work 
in  carrying  an  important  dispatch  to  Madrid,  makes  a  dashing  and 
thrilling  rescue  of  th  sister  of  his  patron  and  is  rapidly  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  captain.  In  following  the  adventures  of  the  hero,  the 
reader  obtains,  as  i*  usual  with  Mr.  Henty's  stories,  a  most  accurate 
and  interesting  history  of  a  picturesque  campaign. 


BOOKS  FOR    YOUNG   PEOPLE 


STORIES    BY    Q.    A,    HENTY 

/'His  books  have  at  once  the  solidity  of  history  and  the  charm  of 
romance.  "-Journal  of  Education. 


TO  HERAT  AND   CABUL 

A  Story  of  the  First  Afghan  War.    By  G.  A.  HENTY.    With 
Illustrations.      12mo,  $1.20  net. 

The  greatest  defeat  ever  experienced  by  the  British  Army  was  that 
in  the  Mountain  Passes  of  Afghanistan.  Angus  Cameron,  the  hero  of 
this  book,  having  been  captured  by  the  friendly  Afghans,  was  com- 
pelled to  be  a  witness  of  the  calamity.  His  whole  story  is  an  intensely 
interesting  one,  from  his  boyhood  in  Persia;  his  employment  underthe 
Government  at  Herat;  through  the  defense  of  that  town  against  the 
Persians;  to  Cabul,  where  he  shared  in  all  the  events  which  ended  in 
the  awful  march  through  the  Passes  from  which  but  one  man  escaped. 
Angus  is  always  at  the  point  of  danger,  and  whether  in  battle  or  in 
hazardous  expeditions  shows  how  much  a  brave  youth,  full  of 
resources,  can  do,  even  with  so  treacherous  a  foe.  His  dangers  and 
adventures  are  thrilling,  and  his  escapes  marvellous. 

WITH  ROBERTS  TO  PRETORIA 

A  Tale  of  the  South  African  War.    By  G.  A  HENTY.    With  12 
Illustrations.    $1.20  net. 

The  Boer  War  gives  Mr.  Henty  an  unexcelled  opportunity  for  a 
thrilling  story  of  present-day  interest  which  the  author  could  not  fail  to 
take  advantage  of.  Every  boy  reader  will  find  this  account  of  the  ad- 
ventures of  the  young  hero  most  exciting,  and,  at  the  same  time  a 
wonderfully  accurate  description  of  Lord  Roberts's  campaign  to  Preto- 
ria. Boys  have  found  history  in  the  dress  Mr.  Henty  gives  it  anything 
but  dull,  and  the  present  book  is  no  exception  to  the  rule. 

AT  THE  POINT  OF  THE  BAYONET 

A  Tale  of  the  Mahratta  War.    By  G.  A.  HENTY.    Illustrated. 
12mo,  $1.20  net. 

One  hundred  years  ago  the  rule  of  the  British  in  India  was  only  partly 
established.  The  powerful  Mahrattas  were  unsubdued,  and  with  their 
skill  in  intrigue,  and  great  military  power,  they  were  exceedingly  dan- 
gerous. The  story  of  "At  the  Point  of  the  Bayonet"  begins  with 
the  attempt  to  conquer  this  powerful  people.  Harry  Lindsay,  an 
infant  when  his  father  and  mother  were  killed,  was  saved  by  his 
Mahratta  ayah,  who  carried  him  to  her  own  people  and  brought  him 
up  as  a  native.  She  taught  him  as  best  she  could,  and,  having  told  him 
his  parentage,  sent  him  to  Bombav  to  be  educated.  At  sixteen  he  ob- 
tained a  commission  in  the  English  Army,  and  his  knowledge  of  the 
Mahratta  tongue  combined  with  his  ability  and  bravery  enabled  him  to 
render  great  service  in  the  Mahratta  War,  and  carried  him,  through 
many  frightful  perils  by  land  and  sea,  to  high  rank. 


BOOKS  FOR    YOUNG   PEOPLE 


BY  C.  A.  HENTY 

"Mr.   Henty  might  with  entire  propriety  be  called  the  boys' Sir 
Walter  Scott."— Philadelphia  Press. 


IN  THE   IRISH   BRIGADE 

A  Tale  of  War  in  Flanders  and  Spain.    With  12  Illustrations  by 
CHARLES  M.  SHELDON.    12mo,  $1.50. 

Desmond  Kennedy  is  a  young  Irish  lad  who  left  Ireland  to  join  the 
Irish  Brigade  in  the  service  of  Louis  XIV.  of  France.  In  Paris  he  in- 
curred the  deadly  hatred  of  a  powerful  courtier  from  whom  he  had 
rescued  a  young  girl  who  had  been  kidnapped,  and  his  perils  are  of  ab- 
sorbing interest.  Captured  in  an  attempted  Jacobite  invasion  of  Scot- 
land, he  escaped  in  a  most  extraordinary  manner.  As  aid-de-camp 
to  the  Duke  of  Berwick  he  experienced  thrilling  adventures  in  Flan- 
ders. Transferred  to  the  Army  in  Spain,  he  was  nearly  assassinated,but 
escaped  to  return,  when  peace  was  declared,  to  his  native  land,  having 
received  pardon  and  having  recovered  his  estates.  The  story  is  filled 
with  adventure,  and  the  interest  never  abates. 

OUT   WITH   GARIBALDI 

A  Story  of  the  Liberation  of  Italy.    By  G.  A.  HENTY.    With 
8  Illustrations  by  W.  RAINBY,  R.I.     12mo,  $1.50. 

Garibaldi  himself  is  the  central  figure  of  this  brilliant  story,  and  the 
little-known  history  of  the  struggle  for  Italian  freedom  is  told  here  in 
the  most  thrilling  way.  From  the  time  the  hero,  a  young  lad,  son  of 
an  English  father  and  an  Italian  mother,  joins  Garibaldi's  band  of 
1,000  men  in  the  first  descent  upon  Sicily,  which  was  garrisoned  by  one 
of  the  large  Neapolitan  armies,  until  the  end,  when  all  those  armies 
are  beaten,  and  the  two  Sicilys  are  conquered,  we  follow  with  the 
keenest  interest  the  exciting  adventures  of  the  lad  in  scouting,  in 
battle,  and  in  freeing  those  in  prison  for  liberty's  sake. 

WITH    BULLER   IN  NATAL 

Or,  A  Born  Leader.     By  G.  A.  HENTY.    With  10  Illustrations 
by  W.  RAINEY.    12mo,  $1.50. 

The  breaking  out  of  the  Boer  War  compelled  Chris  King,  the  hero 
of  the  Btory,  to  flee  with  his  mother  from  Johannesburg  to  the  sea 
coast.  They  were  with  many  other  Uitlanders,  and  all  suffered  much 
from  the  Boers.  Reaching  a  place  of  safety  for  their  families,  Chris 
and  twenty  of  his  friends  formed  an  independent  company  of  scouts.  In 
this  service  they  were  with  Gen.  Yule  at  Glencoe,  then  in  Ladysmith, 
then  with  Buller.  In  each  place  they  had  many  thrilling  adventures. 
They  were  in  great  battles  and  in  lonely  fights  on  the  Veldt ;  were 
taken  prisoners  and  escaped;  and  they  rendered  most  valuable  service 
to  the  English  forces.  The  story  is  a  most  interesting  picture  of  the 
War  in  South  Africa. 


BOOKS  FOR    YOUNG   PEOPLE 


BY  Q.  A.  HENTY 

"Surely  Mr.  Henty  should  understand  boys'  tastes  better  than  any 
man  living. "—The  Times. 


WON   BY  THE  SWORD 

A  Tale  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War.    With  12  Illustrations  by 
CHARLES  M.  SHELDON,  and  four  Plans.     12mo,  $1.50. 

The  scene  of  this  story  is  laid  in  France,  during  the  time  of  Richelieu, 
of  Mazarin  and  Anne  of  Austria.  The  hero,  Hector  Campbell,  is  the 
orphaned  sou  of  a  Scotch  officer  in  the  French  Army.  How  he  at- 
tracted the  notice  of  Marshal  Turenne  and  of  the  Prince  of  Conde ; 
how  he  rose  to  the  rank  of  Colonel ;  how  he  finally  had  to  leave  France, 
pursued  by  the  deadly  hatred  of  the  Due  de  Beaufort — all  these  and 
much  more  the  story  tells  with  the  most  absorbing  interest. 

A  ROVING  COMMISSION 

Or,  Through  the  Black  Insurrection  at  Hayti.    With  12  Illus- 
trations by  WILLIAM  RAINEY.    12mo,  $1.50. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  brilliant  of  Mr.  Henty's  books.  A  story  of 
the  sea,  with  all  its  life  and  action,  it  is  als.o  full  of  thrilling  adven- 
tures on  land.  So  it  holds  the  keenest  interest  until  the  end.  The 
scene  is  a  new  one  to  Mr.  Henty's  readers,  being  laid  at  the  time  of  the 
Great  Revolt  of  the  Blacks,  by  which  Hayti  became  independent. 
Toussaint  1'Overture  appears,  and  an  admirable  picture  is  given  of  him 
and  of  his  power. 

NO  SURRENDER 

The   Story  of  the  Revolt  in  La  Vendee.    With  8  Illustrations 
by  STANLEY  L.  WOOD.    12mo,  $1.50. 

The  revolt  of  La  Vende"e  against  the  French  Republic  at  the  time  of 
the  Revolution  forms  the  groundwork  of  this  absorbing  story.  Leigh 
Stansfield,  a  young  English  lad,  is  drawn  into  the  thickest  of  the  con- 
flict. Forming  a  company  of  boys  as  scouts  for  the  Vende'an  Army, 
he  greatly  aids  the  peasants.  He  rescues  his  sister  from  the  guillotine, 
and  finally,  after  many  thrilling  experiences,  when  the  cause  of  La 
Vendee  is  lost,  he  escapes  to  England. 

UNDER  WELLINGTON'S  COMMAND 

A  Tale  of  the  Peninsular  War.     With  12  Illustrations  by  WAL 
PAGET.    12mo,  $1.50. 

The  dashing  hero  of  this  book,  Terence  O'Connor,  was  the  hero  of 
Mr.  Henty's  previous  book,  "  With  Moore  at  Corunna,"  to  which  this 
is  really  a  sequel.  He  is  still  at  the  head  of  the  '  Minho  "  Portuguese 
regiment.  Being  detached  on  independent  and  guerilla  duty  with  his 
regiment,  he  renders  invaluable  service  in  gaining  information  and  in 
harassing  the  French.  His  command,  being  constantly  on  the  edge  of 
the  army,  is  engaged  in  frequent  skirmishes  and  some  most  important 
battles. 


BOOKS  FOR    YOUNG   PEOPLE 


BY  G.  A.  HENTY 

"  Mr.  Henty  is  the  king  of  story-tellers  for  boys.  "—Swjrd  and  Trowel. 


AT  ABOUKIR  AND  ACRE 

A  Story  of  Napoleon's  Invasion  of  Egypt.  With  8  full-pag« 
Illustrations  by  WILLIAM  RAINEY,  and  3  Plans.  12mo, 
$1.50. 

The  hero,  having  saved  the  life  of  the  son  of  an  Arab  chief,  is  taken 
into  the  tribe,  has  a  part  in  the  battle  of  the  Pyramids  and  the  revolt 
at  Cairo.  He  is  an  eye-witness  of  the  famous  naval  battle  of  Aboukir, 
and  later  is  in  the  hardest  of  the  defense  of  Acre. 

BOTH  SIDES  THE  BORDER 

A  Tale  of  Hotspur  and  Glendower.  With  12  full-page  Illus- 
trations by  RALPH  PEACOCK.  12mo,  $1.50. 

This  is  a  brilliant  story  of  the  stirring  times  of  the  beginning  of  the 
Wars  of  the  Roses,  when  the  Scotch,  under  Douglas,  and  the  Welsh, 
under  Owen  Glendower,  were  attacking  the  English.  The  hero  of  the 
book  lived  near  the  Scotch  border,  and  saw  many  a  hard  fight  there. 
Entering  the  service  of  Lord  Percy,  he  was  sent  to  Wales,  where  he 
was  knighted,  and  where  he  wag  captured.  Being  released,  he  returned 
home,  and  shared  in  the  fatal  battle  of  Shrewsbury. 


WITH  FREDERICK  THE  GREAT 

A  Tale  of  the  Seven  Years'  War.     With  12  full-page  Illustra- 
tions.    12mo,  $1.50. 

The  hero  of  this  story  while  still  a  youth  entered  the  service  of 
Frederick  the  Great,  and  by  a  succession  of  fortunate  circumstances 
and  perilous  adventures,  rose  to  the  rank  of  colonel.  Attached  to  the 
staff  of  the  king,  he  rendered  distinguished  services  in  many  battles,  in 
one  of  which  he  saved  the  king's  life.  Twice  captured  and  imprisoned, 
he  both  times  escaped  from  the  Austrian  fortresses. 

A  MARCH  ON  LONDON 

A  Story  of  Wat  Tyler's  Rising.     With  8  full-page  Illustra- 
tions by  W.  H.  MARGETSON.     12mo,  $1.50. 

The  story  of  Wat  Tyler's  Rebellion  is  but  little  known,  but  the  hero 
of  this  story  passes  through  that  perilous  time  and  takes  part  in  the 
civil  war  in  Flanders  which  followed  soon  after.  Although  young  he 
is  thrown  into  many  exciting  and  dangerous  adventures,  through  which 
he  passes  with  great  coolness  and  much  credit. 


BOOKS   FOR    YOUNG   PEOPLE 


BY  G,  A.  HENTY 

"  No  country  nor  epoch  of  history  is  there  which  Mr.  Henty  does  not 
know,  and  what  is  really  remarkable  is  that  he  always  writes  well  and 
interestingly."— New  York  Times. 


WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

A  Story  of  the  Peninsular  War.  With  12  full-page  Illustra- 
tions by  WAL  PAGET.  12mo,  $1.50. 

Terence  O'Connor  is  living  with  his  widowed  father,  Cantain  O'Con- 
nor of  the  Mayo  Fusiliers,  with  the  regiment  at  the  time  when  the 
Peninsular  war  began.  Upon  the  regiment  being  ordered  to  Spain, 
Terence  gets  appointed  as  aid  to  one  of  the  generals  of  a  division.  By 
his  bravery  and  great  usefulness  throughout  the  war,  he  is  rewarded 
by  a  commission  as  colonel  in  the  Portuguese  army  and  there  rendered 
great  service. 

AT  AGINCOURT 

A  Tale  of  the  White  Hoods  of  Paris.  With  12  full-page 
Illustrations  by  WALTER  PAGET.  Crown  8vo,  olivine 
edges,  $1.50. 

The  story  begins  in  a  grim  feudal  castle  in  Normandie.  The  times 
were  troublous,  and  soon  the  king  compelled  Lady  Margaret  de  Villeroy 
with  her  children  to  go  to  Paris  as  hostages.  Guy  Aylmer  went  with 
her.  Paris  was  turbulent.  Soon  the  guild  of  the  butchers,  adopting 
white  hoods  as  their  uniform,  seized  the  city,  and  besieged  the  house 
where  our  hero  and  his  charges  lived.  After  desperate  fighting,  the 
white  hoods  were  beaten  and  our  hero  and  his  charges  escaped  from 
the  city,  and  from  France. 

WITH  COCHRANE  THE  DAUNTLESS 

A  Tale  of  the  Exploits  of  Lord  Cochrane  in  South  American 
Waters.  With  12  full-page  Illustrations  by  W.  H. 
MARGETSON.  Crown  8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

The  hero  of  this  story  accompanies  Cochrane  as  midshipman,  and 
serves  in  the  war  between  Chili  and  Peru.  He  has  many  exciting 
adve>  tures  in  battles  by  sea  and  land,  is  taken  prisoner  and  condemned 
to  death  by  the  Inquisition,  but  escapes  by  a  long  and  thrilling  flight 
across  South  America  and  down  the  Amazon. 

ON  THE  IRRAWADDY 

A  Story  of  the  First  Burmese  War.  With  8  full  page  Illus- 
trations by  W.  H.  OVEREND.  Crown  8vo,  olivine  edges, 
$1.50. 

The  hero,  having  an  uncle,  a  trader  on  the  Indian  and  Burmese 
rivers,  goes  out  to  join  him.  Soon  after,  war  is  declared  by  Burmah 
against  England  and  he  is  drawn  into  it.  He  has  many  experiences 
and  narrow  escapes  in  battles  and  in  scouting.  With  half-a-dozen 
men  he  rescues  his  cousin  who  had  been  taken  prisoner,  and  in  the 
flight  they  are  besieged  in  an  old,  ruined  temple. 


BOOKS  FOR    YOUNG   PEOPLE 


BY  G.  A.  HENTY 

"  Boys  like  stirring  adventures,  and  Mr.  Henty  is  a  master  of  this 
method  of  composition." — New  York  Times. 


THROUGH   RUSSIAN  SNOWS 

A  Story  of  Napoleon's  Retreat  from  Moscow.  With  8  full- 
page  Illustrations  by  W.  H.  OVBBEND  and  3  Maps.  Crown 
8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

The  hero,  Julian  Wyatt,  after  several  adventures  with  smugglers,  by 
whom  he  is  handed  over  a  prisoner  to  the  French,  regains  his  freedom 
and  joins  Napoleon's  army  in  the  Russian  campaign.  When  the  terrible 
retreat  begins,  Julian  finds  himself  in  the  rearguard  of  the  French  army, 
fighting  desperately.  Ultimately  he  escapes  out  of  the  general  disaster, 
and  returns  to  England. 

A  KNIGHT  OF    THE  WHITE  CROSS 

A  Tale  of  the  Siege  of  Rhodes.  With  12  full -page  Illustra- 
tions by  RALPH  PEACOCK,  and  a  Plan.  Crown  8vo,  olivine 
edges,  $1.50. 

Gervaise  Tresham,  the  hero  of  this  story,  joins  the  Order  of  the 
Knights  of  St.  John,  and  proceeds  to  the  stronghold  of  Rhodes.  Sub- 
sequently he  is  appointed  commander  of  a  war-galley,  and  in  his  first 
voyage  destroys  a  fleet  of  Moorish  corsairs.  During  one  of  his  cruises 
the  young  knight  is  attacked  on  shore,  captured  after  a  desperate 
struggle,  and  sold  into  slavery  in  Tripoli.  He  succeeds  in  escaping,  and 
returns  to  Rhodes  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  defense  of  that  fortress. 

THE  TIGER  OF  MYSORE 

A  Story  of  the  War  with  Tippoo  Saib.  With  12  full-page 
Illustrations  by  W.  H.  MARGETSON,  and  a  Map.  Crown 
8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

Dick  Holland,  whose  father  is  supposed  to  be  a  captive  of  Tippoo 
Saib,  goes  to  India  to  help  him  to  escape.  He  joins  the  army  under 
Lord  Cornwallis,  and  takes  part  in  the  campaign  againt  Tippoo. 
Afterwards  he  assumes  a  disguise,  enters  Seringapatam,  and  at  last 
he  discovers  his  father  in  the  great  stronghold  of  Savandroog.  The 
hazardous  rescue  is  at  length  accomplished,  and  the  young  fellow's 
dangerous  mission  is  done. 

IN  THE  HEART  OF  THE  ROCKIES 

A  Story  of  Adventure  in  Colorado.  By  G.  A.  HENTY.  With 
8  full-page  Illustrations  by  G.  C.  HINDLEY.  Crown  8vo, 
olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

The  hero,  Tom  Wade,  goes  to  seek  his  uncle  in  Colorado,  who  is  a 
hunter  and  gold-digger,  and  he  is  discovered,  after  many  dangers,  out 
on  the  Plains  with  some  comrades.  Going  in  quest  of  a  gold  mine,  the 
little  band  is  spied  by  Indians,  chased  across  the  Bad  Lands,  and 
overwhelmed  by  a  snowstorm  in  the  mountains. 


BOOKS  FOR    YOUNG   PEOPLE 


BY  G.  A,  HENTY 

"  Mr.  Henty  is  one  of  the  best  story-tellers  for  young  people." 

— Spectator. 


WHEN  LONDON   BURNED 

A  Story  of  the  Plague  and  the  Fire.  By  G.  A.  HENTY.  With 
12  full-page  Illustrations  by  J.  FINNEMORE.  Crown  8vo, 
olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

The  hero  of  this  story  was  the  son  of  a  nobleman  who  had  lost  his 
estates  during  the  troublous  times  of  the  Commonwealth.  During  the 
Great  Plague  and  the  Great  Fire,  Cyril  was  prominent  among  those 
who  brought  help  to  the  panic-stricken  inhabitants. 

WULF  THE  SAXON 

A  Story  of  the  Norman  Conquest.  By  G.  A.  HENTY.  With 
12  full-page  Illustrations  by  RALPH  PEACOCK.  Crown 
8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

The  hero  is  a  young  thane  who  wins  the  favor  of  Earl  Harold  and 
becomes  one  of  his  retinue.  When  Harold  becomes  King  of  England 
Wulf  assists  in  the  Welsh  wars,  and  takes  part  against  the  Norsemen 
at  the  Battle  of  Stamford  Bridge.  When  William  of  Normandy  in- 
vades England,  Wulf  is  with  the  English  host  at  Hastings,  and  stands 
by  his  king  to  the  last  in  the  mighty  struggle. 

ST.  BARTHOLOMEW'S  EVE 

A  Tale  of  the  Huguenot  Wars.  By  G.  A.  HENTY.  With  12 
full-page  Illustrations  by  H.  J.  DRAPER,  and  a  Map. 
Crown  8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

The  hero,  Philip  Fletcher,  has  a  French  connection  on  his  mother's 
side.  This  induces  him  to  cross  the  Channel  in  order  to  take  a  share 
in  the  Huguenot  wars.  Naturally  he  sides  with  the  Protestants,  dis- 
tinguishes himself  in  various  battles,  and  receives  rapid  promotion  for 
the  zeal  and  daring  with  which  he  carries  out  several  secret  missions. 

THROUGH  THE  SIKH  WAR 

A  Tale  of  the  Conquest  of  the  Punjaub.  By  G.  A.  HENTY. 
With  12  full-page  Illustrations  by  HAL  HURST,  and  a 
Map.  Crown  8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

Percy  Groves,  a  spirited  English  lad,  joins  his  uncle  in  the  Punjaub, 
where  the  natives  are  in  a  state  of  revolt.  Percy  joins  the  British 
force  as  a  volunteer,  and  takes  a  distinguished  share  in  the  famous 
battles  of  the  Punjaub. 


BOOKS  FOR    YOUNG   PEOPLE 


BYG.  A.  HENTY 

"  The  brightest  of  the  living  writers  whose  office  it  is  to  enchant  the 
boys. — Christian  Leader. 


A  JACOBITE  EXILE 

Being  the  Adventures  of  a  Young  Englishman  in  the  Service 
of  Charles  XII.  of  Sweden.  By  G.  A.  HENTY.  With  8 
full-page  Illustrations  by  PAUL  HARDY,  and  a  Map.  Crown 
8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

Sir  Marmaduke  Carstairs,  a  Jacobite,  is  the  victim  of  a  conspiracy,  and 
he  is  denounced  as  a  plotter  against  the  life  of  King  William.  He  flies 
to  Sweden,  accompanied  by  his  son  Charlie.  This  youth  joins  the 
foreign  legion  under  Charles  XII.,  and  takes  a  distinguished  part  in 
several  famous  campaigns  against  the  Russians  and  Poles. 

CONDEMNED  AS  A  NIHILIST 

A  Story  of  Escape  from  Siberia.  By  G.  A.  HENTY.  With  8 
full-page  Illustrations.  Crown  8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

The  hero  of  this  story  is  an  English  boy  resident  in  St.  Petersburg. 
Through  two  student  friends  he  becomes  innocently  involved  in 
various  political  plots,  resulting  in  his  seizure  by  the  Russian  police 
and  his  exile  to  Siberia.  He  ultimately  escapes,  and,  after  many  ex- 
citing adventures,  he  reaches  Norway,  and  thence  home,  after  a 
perilous  journey  which  lasts  nearly  two  years. 

BERIC  THE  BRITON 

A  Story  of  the  Roman  Invasion.  By  G.  A.  HENTY.  With 
12  full-page  Illustrations  by  W.  PARKINSON.  Crown  8vo, 
olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

This  story  deals  with  the  invasion  of  Britain  by  the  Roman  legionaries. 
Beric,  who  is  a  boy-chief  of  a  British  tribe,  takes  a  prominent  part  in 
the  insurrection  under  Boadicea ;  and  after  the  defeat  of  that  heroic 
queen  (in  A.  D.  62)  he  continues  the  struggle  in  the  fen-country. 
Ultimately  Beric  is  defeated  and  carried  captive  to  Rome,  where  he  is 
trained  in  the  exercise  of  arms  in  a  school  of  gladiators.  At  length  he 
returus  to  Britain,  where  he  becomes  ruler  of  his  own  people. 

IN  GREEK  WATERS 

A  Story  of  the  Grecian  War  of  Independence  (1821-1827).  By 
G.  A.  HENTY.  With  12  full-page  Illustrations  by  W.  S. 
STACEY,  and  a  Map.  Crown  8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

Deals  with  the  revolt  of  the  Greeks  in  1821  against  Turkish  oppres- 
sion. Mr.  Beveridge  and  his  son  Horace  fit  out  a  privateer,  load  it 
with  military  stores,  and  set  sail  for  Greece.  They  rescue  the  Chris- 
tians, relieve  the  captive  Greeks,  and  fight  the  Turkish  war  vessels. 


BOOKS  FOR    YOUNG   PEOPLE 


BY  G. A.  HENTY 

"  No  living  writer  of  books  for  boys  writes  to  better  purpose  than 
Mr.  G.  A.  Renty."— Philadelphia  Press. 


THE  DASH  FOR  KHARTOUM 

A  Tale  of  the  Nile  Expedition.  By  G.  A.  HENTY.  With  10 
full-page  Illustrations  by  JOHN  SCHONBERG  and  J.  NASH. 
Crown  8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

In  the  record  of  recent  British  history  there  is  no  more  captivating 
page  for  boys  than  the  story  of  the  Nile  campaign,  and  the  attempt  to 
rescue  General  Gordon.  For,  in  the  difficulties  which  the  expedition 
encountered,  in  the  perils  which  it  overpassed,  and  in  its  final  tragic 
disappointments,  are  found  all  the  excitements  of  romance,  as  well  as 
the  fascination  which  belongs  to  real  events. 

REDSKIN  AND  COW-BOY 

A  Tale  of  the  Western  Plains.  By  G.  A.  HENTY.  With  12 
full-page  Illustrations  by  ALFRED  PEARSE.  Crown  8vo, 
olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

The  central  interest  of  this  story  is  found  in  the  many  adventures  of 
an  English  lad,  who  seeks  employment  as  a  cow-boy  on  a  cattle  ranch. 
His  experiences  during  a  "  round-up  "  present  in  picturesque  form  the 
toilsome,  exciting,  adventurous  life  of  a  cow-boy ;  while  the  perils  of  a 
frontier  settlement  are  vividly  set  forth  in  an  Indian  raid. 


HELD  FAST  FOR  ENGLAND 

A  Tale  of  the  Siege  of  Gibraltar.  By  G.  A.  HENTY.  With 
8  full-page  Illustrations  by  GORDON  BROWNE.  Crown  8vo, 
olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

This  story  deals  with  one  of  the  most  memorable  sieges  in  history— 
the  siege  of  Gibraltar  in  1779-83  by  the  united  forces  of  France  and 
Spam.  With  land  forces,  fleets,  and  floating  batteries,  the  combined 
resources  of  two  great  nations,  this  grim  fortress  was  vainly  besieged 
and  bombarded.  The  hero  of  the  tale,  an  English  lad  resident  in 
Gibraltar,  takes  a  brave  and  worthy  part  in  the  long  defence,  and  it  is 
through  his  varied  experiences  that  we  learn  with  what  bravery,  re- 
source, and  tenacity  the  Rock  was  held  for  England. 


NOTE.— For  a  list  of  Henty  Books  at  popular  prices,  see  the 
following  page. 


BOOKS  FOR  YOUNG  PEOPLE 


BY    G.  A.   HENTY 

The  following  copyrighted  .Henty 
are  also  issued  in    acheap  edition 


A  MARCH  ON  LONDON 

WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

AT  AGINCOURT 

COCHRANE  THE  DAUNTLESS 

ON  THE  IRRAWADDY 

THROUGH  RUSSIAN  SNOWS 

A  KNIGHT  OF  THE  WHITE  CROSS 

THE  TIGER  OF  MYSORE 

IN  THE  HEART  OF  THE  ROCKIES 

WHEN  LONDON  BURNED 

WULF  THE  SAXON 

ST.  BARTHOLOMEW'S  EVE 

THROUGH  THE  SIKH  WAR 

A  JACOBITE  EXILE 

CONDEMNED  AS  A    NIHILIST 

BERIC  THE  BRITON 

IN  GREEK  WATERS 

THE  DASH  FOR  KHARTOUM 

REDSKIN  AND  COW-BOY 

HELD  FAST  FOR  ENGLAND 


These  booths  are  fully  described  in  the 
pages  preceding  this. 


A  LIST  OF  NE,W  BOOKS 

FOR. 

YOUNG    PEOPLE 


FALL    OF    19O2 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S    SONS 
NEW    YORK 


THE   BOOK   OF  JOYOUS  CHILDREN 

BY  JAMES  WHITCOMB  RILEY 

Profusely  Illustrated. 

The  sweetness,  the  grace,  the  laughter  and  the  tenderness  of  Mr. 
Riley's  best  verse  are  found  to  the  full  in  this  book  of  delightful  poems 
for  and  about  children.  The  illustrations  have  been  made  under  the 
author's  supervision,  and  portray  the  scenes  and  the  little  heroes  and 
heroines  of  the  poems  with  artistic  fidelity. 

IN  THE  WASP'S  NEST 

The  Story  of  a  Sea  Waif.    By  CYRUS  TOWNBEND  BRADY.    Illus- 
trated.   $1.50  net.     (Postage,  16  cents.) 

A  vigorous  story  of  the  War  of  1812.  The  hero,  a  midshipman, 
serves  gallantly  aboard  two  Jfamous  American  ships,  each  bearing  the 
name  of  Wasp,  having  many  adventures  of  storm,  battle  and  capture. 
The  hero  was  picked  up  in  an  open  boat  when  a  baby  by  the  crew  of  the 
U.  8.  8.  Boston  and  adopted  by  the  Captain.  The  story  has  the  real 
spirit  of  the  American  Navy. 

A  CAPTURED  SANTA  CLAUS 
BY  THOMAS  NELSON  PAGE 

Illustrated  in  Colors. 

This  exouisite  story  of  childhood  is  one  of  the  most  delicate  that 
even  Mr.  Page  has  written.  It  is  an  episode  of  the  Civil  War  in  which 
children  are  the  little  heroes.  The  period  is  the  Christmas  time,  and 
the  scene  is  between  the  lines  of  the  Union  and  Confederate  Armies. 


BOOKS  FOR    YOUNG-   PEOPLE 


JEB  HUTTON,  A  GEORGIA  BOY 

By  JAMES  B.  CONNOLLY.  Illustrated.  $1.20  net.  (Postage, 
13  cents.) 

A  thoroughly  interesting  and  breezy  tale  of  boy-life  along  the 
Savannah  River  by  a  writer  who  knows  boys,  and  who  has  succeeded 
in  making  of  the  adventures  of  Jeb  and  his  friends  a  story  that  will 
keep  his  young  readers  absorbed  to  the  last  page. 

KING  MOMBO 

By  PAUL  Du  CHAILLU.  Author  of  "  The  World  of  the  Great 
Forest,"  etc.  With  24  illustrations.  $1.50  net.  (Postage, 
16  cents.) 

The  scene  is  the  great  African  forest.  It  is  a  book  of  interesting 
experiences  with  native  tribes,  and  thrilling  and  perilous  adventures  in 
hunting  elephants,  crocodiles,  gorillas  and  other  fierce  creatures 
among  which  this  famous  explorer  lived  so  long. 


A  NEW  BOOK  FOR  GIRLS 

By  LINA  BEARD  and  ADELIA  B.  BEARD.    Authors  of  "  The 
American  Girl's  Handy    Book."    Profusely  Illustrated. 

An  admirable  collection  of  entirely  new  and  original  indoor  and  out- 
door pastimes  for  American  girls,  each  fully  and  interestingly  de- 
scribed and  explained,  and  all  designed  to  stimulate  the  taste  and 
ingenuity  at  the  same  time  that  they  entertain. 

SEA   FIGHTERS    FROM   DRAKE  TO 
FARRAGUT 

By  JESSIE  PEABODY  FROTHINGHAM.    Illustrations  by  REUTER- 
DAHL.     $1.20  net.     (Postage,  14  cents.) 

Drake,  Tromp,  De  Reuter,  Tourville,  Suffren,  Paul  Jones,  Nelson 
and  Farragut  are  the  naval  heroes  here  pictured,  and  each  is  shown  in 
some  great  episode  which  illustrates  his  personality  and  heroism.  The 
book  is  full  of  the  very  spirit  of  daring  and  adventurous  achievement. 

BOB  AND  HIS  GUN 

By  WILLIAM  ALEXANDER  LINN.    With  8  Illustrations. 

The  adventures  of  a  boy  with  a  gun  under  the  instruction  of  his 
cousin,  an  accomplished  sportsman.  The  book's  aim  is  to  interest 
boys  in  hunting  in  the  spirit  of  true  sport  and  to  instruct  in  the  ways 
of  game  birds  and  animals. 


A  List  of  Books     * 
5K      for  Young  People 

... BK ... 

KIRK     MUNROE 


A    SON    OF    SATSUMA 
Or,  With  Perry  in  Japan 

BY  KIRK  MUNROE 

With  twelve  Illustrations  by  HARRY  C.  EDWARDS.    $1.00  net. 

THIS  absorbing  story  for  boys  deals  with  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting  episodes  in  our  National  history.  From  the 
beginning  Japan  has  been  a  land  of  mystery.  Foreigners  were 
permitted  to  land  only  at  certain  points  on  her  shores  and  nothing 
whatever  was  known  of  her  civilization  and  history,  her  romance 
and  magnificence,  her  wealth  and  art.  It  was  Commodore  Perry 
who  opened  her  gates  to  the  world,  thus  solving  the  mystery  of 
the  ages,  and,  in  this  thrilling  story  of  an  American  boy  in 
Japan  at  that  period,  the  spirit  as  well  as  the  history  of  this  great 
achievement  is  ably  set  forth. 

MIDSHIPMAN  STUART 

Or,  the  Last  Cruise  of  the  Essex.  A  Tale  of  the  War  of  1812. 
Illustrated.  12mo,  $1.25. 

This  is  an  absorbing  story  of  life  in  the  American  Navy  during 
the  stirring  times  of  our  war  of  1812.  The  very  spirit  of  the 
period  is  in  its  pages,  and  many  of  the  adventures  of  the  Essex 
are  studied  from  history. 

IN  PIRATE  WATERS 

A  Tale  of  the  American  Navy.     Illustrated   by   I.  W.  TABER. 
12mo,  $1.25. 

The  hero  of  the  story  becomes  a  midshipman  in  the  navy  just  at  the 
time  of  the  war  with  Tripo  i.  His  own  wild  adventures  among  the 
Turks  and  his  love  romance  are  thoroughly  interwoven  with  the  stir- 
ring history  of  that  time. 


BOOKS  FOR    YOUNG   PEOPLE 


BY  KIRK  MUNROE 

THE  "WHITE  CONQUERORS"  SERIES 
WITH    CROCKETT  AND   BOWIE 

Or,  Fighting  for  the  Lone  Star  Flag.  A  Tale  of  Texas.  With 
8  full-page  Illustrations  by  VICTOR  PERARD.  Crown  8vo, 
$1.25. 

The  story  is  of  the  Texas  revolution  in  1835,  when  American  Texans 
under  Sam  Houston,  Bowie,  Crockett  and  Travis,  fought  for  relief 
from  the  intolerable  tyranny  of  the  Mexican  Santa  Ana.  The  hero, 
Rex  Hardin,  son  of  a  Texan  ranchman  and  graduate  of  an  American 
military  school,  takes  a  prominent  part  in  the  heroic  defense  of  the 
Alamo,  and  the  final  triumph  at  San  Jacinto. 

THROUGH    SWAMP    AND   GLADE 

A  Tale  of  the  Seminole  War.  By  KIRK  MUNROE.  With  8  full- 
page  Illustrations  by  V.  PERARD.  Crown  8vo,  $1.25. 

Coacoochee,  the  hero  of  the  story,  is  the  son  of  Philip  the  chieftain 
of  the  Seminoles.  He  grows  up  to  lead  his  tribe  in  the  long  struggle 
which  resulted  in  the  Indians  being  driven  from  the  north  of  Florida 
down  to  the  distant  southern  wilderness. 

AT  WAR  WITH   PONTIAC 

Or,  the  Totem  of  the  Bear.  A  Tale  of  Redcoat  and  Redskin. 
By  KIRK  MUNROE.  With  8  full-page  Illustrations  by  J. 
FINNBMORE.  Crown  8vo,  $1.25. 

A  story  when  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie  were  held  by  hostile  Indians. 
The  hero,  Donald  Hester,  goes  in  search  of  his  sister  Edith,  who  has 
been  captured  by  the  Indians.  Strange  and  terrible  are  his  experi- 
ences ;  for  he  is  wounded,  taken  prisoner,  condemned  to  be  burned,  but 
contrives  to  escape.  In  the  end  all  things  terminate  happily. 

THE  WHITE   CONQUERORS 

A  Tale  of  Toltec  and  Aztec.  By  KIRK  MUNROE.  With  8  full- 
page  Illustrations.  Crown  8vo,  $1.25. 

This  story  deals  with  the  Conquest  of  Mexico  by  Cortez  and  his 
Spaniards,  the  "  White  Conquerors,"  who,  after  mamy  deeds  of  valor, 
pushed  their  way  into  the  great  Aztec  kingdom  and  established  their 
power  in  the  wondrous  city  where  Montezuma  reigned  in  splendor. 

CHARLES  SCRIBNE,R'S  SONS 
153-7  Fifth  Avenue  New  York 


gOOKS  FOR 

YOUNG  PEOPLE 

BY    CAPT.    F.    S.    BRERETON 

THE   DRAGON   OF   PEKIN 

A  Story  of  the  Boxer  Revolt.     Illustrated,  12mo,  $1.50. 

In  this  timely  volume  the  author  has  been  singularly  successful  in 
depicting  the  stirring  scenes  of  the  late  trouble  in  China.  His  hero  has 
an  adventurous  part  in  the  exciting  issue  between  China  and  the  Allied 
Powers. 

A   GALLANT    GRENADIER 

A  Tale  of  the  Crimean  War.    Illustrated,  12mo,  $1.50. 

Captain  Brereton  is  now  hailed  as  another  "  George  A.  Henty."  In 
this  stirring  story  the  history  and  the  real  atmosphere  of  this  impor- 
tant war  is  strikingly  conveyed  in  a  story  of  really  thrilling  power. 

WITH    RIFLE   AND   BAYONET 

A  Story  of   the    Boer  War.     Illustrations    by  WAL.  PAGET. 
Crown  8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

Jack  Somerten  is  the  first  Uitlander  to  find  actual  evidence  that  the 
Boers  are  importing  arms  and  ammunition  in  large  quantities,  but  the 
Boers  soon  learn  that  he  has  discovered  their  secret  and  from  that  time 
his  life  is  in  constant  danger.  The  account  of  his  adventures  and 
escapes  during  this  time  and  throughout  the  war  makes  one  of  the 
best  war  tales  of  many  years. 

IN  THE   KING'S   SERVICE 

A  Tale  of  Cromwell's  Invasion  of  Ireland.     Illustrations    by 
STANLEY  L.  WOOD.     Crown  8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

When  the  Parlimentary  army  crosses  to  Ireland  young  Dick  Gran- 
ville  and  his  cousin  join  a  body  of  Royalist  horse.  They  take  part  in 
the  defense  of  Drogheda,  only  escaping  from  the  slaughter  there  by  a 
miracle,  and  afterwards  go  through  a  series  of  thrilling  adventures  and 
narrow  escapes. 

WITH    SHIELD  AND   ASSEGAI 

A  Tale  of  the  Zulu  War.     With  6  Illustrations  by     STANLEY 
L.  WOOD.     Crown  8vo,  $1.25. 

Donald  Stewart,  at  school  in  England,  is  wrongfully  accused  of  theft. 
He  runs  away,  enlists  in  the  British  army,  and  is  sent  to  Africa.  There 
he  learns  that  his  sister  and  a  friend  are  in  the  hands  of  Cetewayo. 
Disguised  as  a  Zulu,  he  rescues  the  two  girls  ;  and  after  the  attack 
upon  Ulundi,  he  hears  from  a  dying  officer  a  confession  of  the  theft  of 
which  he  was  accused. 


BOOKS  FOR    YOUNG  PEOPLE 


BY  ROBERT  LEIGHTON 

"Mr.  Leighton's  place  is  in  the  front  rank  of  writers  of  boys'  books." 

— Standard. 

THE  GOLDEN  GALLEON 

Illustrated,  crown  8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

This  is  a  story  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  time,  just  after  the  defeat  of  the 
Spanish  Armada.  Mr.  Leighton  introduces  in  his  work  the  great  sea- 
fighters  of  Plymouth  town— Hawkins,  Drake,  Raleigh,  and  Richard 
Grenville. 

OLAF  THE  GLORIOUS 

With  8  full-page  Illustrations  by  RALPH  PEACOCK.  Crown  8vo, 
olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

This  story  of  Olaf,  King  of  Norway,  opens  with  his  being  found  living 
as  a  bond-slave  in  Esthonia,  and  follows  him  through  his  romantic 
youth  in  Russia.  Then  come  his  adventures  as  a  Viking,  his  raids  upon 
the  coasts  of  Scotland  and  England,  and  his  conversion  to  Christianity. 
He  returns  to  Norway  as  king,  and  converts  his  people  to  the  Christian 
faith. 

WRECK  OF  "THE  GOLDEN  FLEECE" 

The  Story  of  a  North  Sea  Fisher-boy.  With  8  full-page  Illustra- 
tions by  FRANK  BRANGWYN.  Crown  8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

The  hero  is  a  parson's  son  who  is  apprenticed  on  board  a  Lowestoft 
fishing  lugger.  The  lad  suffers  many  buffets  from  his  shipmates,  while 
the  storms  and  dangers  which  he  braved  are  set  forth  with  intense  power. 

THE  THIRSTY  SWORD 

A  Story  of  the  Norse  Invasion  of  Scotland  (1262-63).  With 
8  full-page  Illustrations  by  ALFHED  PEARSE,  and  a  Map. 
Crown  8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

This  story  tells  how  Roderick  Mac  Alpin,  the  sea-rover,  came  to  the 
Isle  of  Bute;  how  he  slew  his  brothei  in  Rothesay«Castle;  how  the  earl's 
eldest  son  was  likewise  slain;  how  young  Kennc  now  became  king  of 
Bute,  and  vowed  vengeance  against  the  slayer  of  his  brother  and  father, 
and  finally,  how  this  vow  was  kept,  when  Kenric  and  the  murderous 
sea-rover  met  at  midnight  and  ended  their  feud  in  one  last  great  fight. 

THE  PILOTS  OF  POMONA 

A  Story  of  the  Orkney  Islands.  With  8  full-page  Illustrations 
by  JOHN  LEIGHTON,  and  a  Map.  Crown  8vo,  olivine  edges, 
$1.50. 

Halcro  Ericson,  the  hero,  happens  upon  many  exciting  adventures 
and  hard  experiences,  through  which  he  carries  himself  with  quiet 
courage.  The  story  gives  a  vivid  presentation  of  life  in  these  far 
northern  islands. 


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AN  ANIMAL  ABC 

A  Humorous  Alphabet.  By  H.  B.  NEILSON.  4to,  $1.00.  With 
24  pages  of  Illustrations  in  two  colors  and  24  pages  in 
black  and  white.  Verses  by  "THE  COCKIOLLY  BIRD." 

A  remarkably  attractive  collection  of  spirited  and  original  animal 
pictures  by  an  artist  who  excels  in  this  line. 

ROUNDABOUT  RHYMES 

Written  and  pictured  by  MRS.  PERCY  DEARMER.  Beautifully 
printed.  With  20  full-page  plates  in  colors.  Small  4to. 
$1.00. 

This  book  is  unusually  attractive  in  form,  and  is  admirably  suited 
to  the  youngest  readers.  The  pictures,  together  with  the  delightful 
series  of  half  playful  rhymes  accompanying  them,  have  a  quaint  nur- 
sery air  that  will  render  them  particularly  dear  to  a  child's  heart. 

THE  LITTLE  BROWNS 

By  MABEL  E.  WOLTON.  With  80  Illustrations  by  H.  M. 
BROCK,  and  a  Colored  Frontispiece.  Square  8vo,  gilt  edges, 
$2.00. 

The  Little  Browns  are  a  delightful  set  of  youngsters,  more  than 
usually  individual  and  self-reliant.  During  their  parents'  absence  they 
extend  hospitality  to  a  stranger,  under  the  belief  that  he  is  their  uncle 
from  Australia.  The  supposed  uncle  is  really  a  burglar,  and  by  their 
courage  and  childish  resources  they  outwit  him.  The  Little  Browns  is 
the  work  of  a  true  child-lover. 


BY   CARTON    MOORE    PARK 

A  BOOK  OF  BIRDS 

Profusely  Illustrated  with  full-page  plates,  vignettes,  cover 
design,  etc.,  etc.  Demy  4to  (13  inches  by  10  inches),  $2.00. 

No  artist  has  caught  more  thoroughly  the  individualities  of  the  bird 
world,  or  has  reproduced  them  with  more  lifelike  vivacity  and  charm. 

AN  ALPHABET  OF  ANIMALS 

With  26  full-page  Plates,  a  large  number  of  vignettes,  and 
cover  design  by  CARTON  MOORE  PARK.  Demy  4to  (18 
inches  by  10  inches),  $2.00. 

A  strikingly  artistic  alphabet  book.  Mr.  Park's  drawings  are  marked 
by  extraordinary  boldness  and  vigor  of  treatment ;  but  they  display  in' 
addition  a  rare  appreciation  of  the  subtler  characteristics  of  the  animal 
world.  Of  these  individual  traits  Mr.  Park  has  an  intuitive  perception, 
and  his  pictures  may  almost  be  said  to  live  upon  the  page. 


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BY   DR.   GORDON   STABLES 


COURAGE  TRUE   HEART 

A  Brilliant  New  Story  of  Danger  and  Daring  on  the  Sea.  By 
GORDON  STABLES,  M.D.,  C.M.  Illustrated,  crown  8vo, 
$1.25. 

A  NAVAL   CADET 

A  Story  of  Adventure  by  Sea.  By  GORDON  STABLES,  M.D., 
C.M.  Illustrated,  crown  8vo,  $1.25. 

FOR   LIFE   AND  LIBERTY 

A  Story  of  Battle  by  Land  and  Sea.  By  GORDON  STABLES, 
M.D.,  C.M.  With  8  full-page  Illustrations  by  SIDNEY 
PAGET.  12  mo,  $1.50. 

The  story  of  an  English  boy  who  runs  from  home  and  joins  the  South- 
ern army  in  the  late  Civil  War.  His  chum  enters  the  navy,  and  their 
various  adventures  are  set  forth  with  great  vigor  and  interest. 

TO   GREENLAND  AND   THE  POLE 

A  Story  of  Adventure  in  the  Arctic  Regions.  By  GORDON 
STABLES,  M.D.,  C.M.  With  8  full-page  Illustrations  by 
G.  C.  HINDLEY,  and  a  map.  Crown  8vo,  olivine  edges, 
$1.50. 

The  author  is  himself  an  old  Arctic  voyager,  and  he  deals  with  deer- 
hunting  in  Norway,  sealing  in  the  Arctic  Seas,  bear-stalking  on  the 
ice-floes,  the  hardships  of  a  journey  across  Greenland,  and  a  successful 
voyage  to  the  back  of  the  North  Pole. 

WESTWARD  WITH   COLUMBUS 

By  GORDON  STABLES,  M.D.,  C.M.  With  8  full-page  Illustra- 
tions by  ALFRED  PEARSE.  Crown  8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

The  hero  of  this  story  is  Columbus  himself.  His  career  is  traced 
from  boyhood  onward  through  the  many  hazardous  enterprises  in  which 
he  was  at  various  times  engaged.  The  narrative  deals  chiefly,  however, 
with  the  great  naval  venture  which  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  the 
American  continent. 

'TWIXT  SCHOOL  AND  COLLEGE 

A  Tale  of  Self-reliance.  By  GORDON  STABLES,  M.D.,  C.M. 
With  8  full-page  Illustrations  by  W.  PARKINSON.  Crown 
8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 


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IN  THE   DICTATOR'S  GRIP 

By  JOHN  SAMSON.    Illustrated.     12mo,  $1.25 

A  vigorous  and  telling  story  of  an  Englishman's  adventures  in  the 
Pampas  and  Paraguay. 

JONES  THE   MYSTERIOUS 

By    CHARLES   EDWARDIS.    With  3  Illustrations    by   HAROLD 
COPPING.    12mo,  75  cts. 

A  bright  story  of  English  schoolboy  life,  with  mysterious  happenings 
to  the  hero,  who  has  a  secret  and  weird  "  power,"  bestowed  upon  him 
by  his  East  Indian  bearer. 

THE    HISTORY    OF  GUTTA-PERCHA 
WILLIE 

The  Working  Genius.  By  GEORGE  MACDONALD.  With  8  Illus- 
trations by  AKTHUR  HUGHES.  New  Edition.  12mo,  75  cts. 

WYNPORT  COLLEGE 

A  Story  of  School  Life.  By  FREDERICK  HARRISON.  With  8 
Illustrations  by  HAROLD  COPPING.  Crown  8vo,  $1.50. 

The  hero  and  his  chums  differ  as  widely  in  character  as  in  personal 
appearance.  We  have  Patrick  O'Fflahertie,  the  good-natured  Irish 
boy ;  Jack  Brookes,  the  irrepressible  humorist ;  Davie  Jackson,  the 
true-hearted  little  lad  on  whose  haps  and  mishaps  the  plot  to  a  great 
extent  turns ;  and  the  hero  himself. 

THE  ROVER'S  SECRET 

A  Tale  of  the  Pirate  Cays  and  Lagoons  of  Cuba.  By  HARRY 
COLLINGWOOD.  With  6  full-page  Illustrations  by  W.  C. 
SYMONS.  Crown  8vo,  $1.00. 

.The  hero  of  "The  Rover's  Secret,"  a  young  officer  of  the  British 
navy,  narrates  his  peculiar  experiences  in  childhood  and  his  subsequent 
perils  and  achivements. 

THE  PIRATE   ISLAND 

A  Story  of  the  South  Pacific.  By  HARRY  COLLINGWOOD. 
Illustrated  by  8  full-page  Pictures  by  C.  J.  STANILAHD  and 
J.  R.  WELLS.  Olivine  edges.  Crown  8vo,  $1.50. 

This  story  details  the  adventures  of  a  lad  who  was  found  in  his  In- 
fancy on  board  a  wreck,  and  is  adopted  by  a  fisherman.  Going  to  sea, 
he  forms  one  of  a  party  who,  after  being  burned  out  of  their  ship, 
are  picked  up  by  a  pirate  brig  and  taken  to  the  "Pirate  Island,"  where 
they  have  many  thrilling  adventures. 


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BY    CEORCE    MANVILLE    FENN 

DICK  O'  THE  FENS 

A  Romance  of  the  Great  East  Swamp.  With  12  full-page 
Illustrations  by  FRANK  DADD.  Crown  8vo,  $1.50. 

BROWNSMITH'S    BOY 

With  6  page  Illustrations.    Crown,  8vo,  $1.00. 

YUSSUF   THE    GUIDE 

Being  the  Strange  Story  of  Travels  in  Asia  Minor.  With  8  full- 
page  Illustrations.  Crown  8vo,  $1.00. 

THE  GOLDEN  MAGNET 

A  Tale  of  the  Land  of  the  Incas.  With  12  full-page  pictures  by 
GORDON  BROWNE.  Crown  8vo,  $1.50. 

NAT  THE  NATURALIST 

A  Boy's  Adventures  in  the  Eastern  Seas.  Illustrated  by  8  full- 
page  Pictures  by  GEORGE  BROWNE.  Crown,  8vo,  olivine 
edges,  $1.50. 

QUICKSILVER 

Or,  A  Boy  with  no  Skid  to  his  Wheel.  With  10  full-page  Illus- 
trations by  FRANK  DADD.  Crown  8vo,  $1.25. 

DEVON    BOYS 

A  Tale  of  the  North  Shore.  With  12  full-page  Illustrations  by 
GORDON  BROWNE.  Crown  8vo,  $1.50. 

MOTHER  CAREY'S  CHICKEN 

Her  Voyage  to  the  Unknown  Isle.  With  8  full-page  Illustra- 
tions. Crown  8vo,  $1.00. 

BUNYIP  LAND 

The  Story  of  a  Wild  Journey  in  New  Guinea.  With  6  full-page 
Illustrations  by  GORDON  BROWNE.  Crown  8vo,  $1.25. 

IN  THE  KING'S  NAME 

Or,  The  Cruise  of  the  Kestrel.  Illustrated  by  12  full-page  Pic- 
tures by  GORDON  BROWNE.  Crown  8vo,  $1.50. 

MENHARDOC 

A  Story  of  Cornish  Nets  and  Mines.  With  6  full-page  Illustra- 
tions by  C.  J.  STANILAND.  Crown  8vo,  $1.00. 

PATIENCE  WINS 

Or,  War  in  the  Works.  With  6  full-page  Illustrations.  Crown 
8vo,  $1.00. 


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BY  HARRY  COLLINGWOOD 
THE    LOG    OF    A    PRIVATEERSMAN 

With  12  full-page  Illustrations  by  W.   RAINEY,   R.I.     Crown 
8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

In  the  war  between  Napoleon  and  the  British,  many  privateers  were 
sent  out  from  England  to  seize  and  destroy  the  French  merchant  vessels. 
On  one  of  these  George  Bowen  went  as  second  mate.  Long  distance 
duels  at  sea,  tights  at  close  quarters,  fierce  boarding  attacks,  capture  and 
recapture,  flight  and  pursuit,  storm  and  wreck,  fire  at  sea  and  days  with 
out  food  or  water  in  a  small  boat  on  the  ocean,  are  some  of  the  many 
thrilling  experiences  our  hero  passed  through. 


BY  PROFESSOR  A.  J.  CHURCH 

LORDS    OF    THE    WORLD 

A   story  of  the  Fall  of  Carthage  and  Corinth.     By  Professor 
A.  J.  CHURCH.     With  12  full-page  Illustrations  by  RALPH 
PEACOCK.     Crown  8vo,  olivine  edges  $1.50. 
The  scene  of  this  story  centres  in  the  destruction  of  Carthage  by  the 
Romans.    The  young  hero  is  captured  by  the  Romans,  but  wearing  the 
dress  of  his  twin  sister,  escapes  death.    Entering  the  army  of  Carthage 
he  is  in  the  thick  of  the  long  conflict  and  passes  through  many  thrilling 
adventures.  

BY  S    BARING-GOULD 

GRETTIR    THE    OUTLAW 

A   story  of  Iceland.      By  S.   BARING-GOULD.     With  10  full- 
page    Illustrations  by   M.   ZENO  DIEMER,  and  a   Colored 
Map.    Crown  8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 
No  boy  will  be  able  to  withstand  the  magic  of  such  scenes  as  the  fight 

of  Grettir  with  twelve  bearserks  and  the  wrestle  with  Karr  the  Old  in 

the  chamber  of  the  dead. 


THE   MISSING  MERCHANTMAN 

By  HARRY  COLLINGWOOD.  With  6  full  page  pictures  by  W. 
H.  OVEREND.  Crown  8vo,  $1.00. 

A  fine  Australian  clipper  is  seized  by  the  crew;  the  passengers  are 
landed  on  one  deserted  island,  the  captain  and  a  junior  officer  on  another, 
and  the  young  hero  of  the  story  is  kept  on  board  to  navigate  the  ship, 
which  the  mutineers  refit  as  a  private  vessel. 

THE    CONGO   ROVERS 

A  Tale  of  the  Slave  Squadron.  By  HARRY  COLLINGWOOD. 
With  8  full-page  Illustrations  by  J.  SCHONBERG.  Crown 
8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

FIGHTING  THE  MATABELE 

By  J.  CHALMERS.  With  6  Illustrations  by  STANLEY  L.  WOOD. 
12mo,  $1.25. 


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GOOD  BOOKS  FOR  GIRLS 

THREE   FAIR   MAIDS 

Or,  The  Burkes  of  Denymore.  By  KATHARINE  TYNAN.  With 
12  Illustrations  by  Q.  D.  HAMMOND.  Crown  8vo,  olivine 
edges,  $1.50. 

A  story  of  Irish  country  life.  The  three  fair  maids  are  the  daughters 
of  an  impoverished  Irish  lady.  Sir  Jasper's  disinheritance  of  their 
father  obliged  them  to  give  up  their  great  house,  but  the  family 
is  ultimately  reconciled  with  Uncle  Peter,  who  makes  Elizabeth  his 
heiress. 

THREE   BRIGHT  GIRLS 

A  Story  of  Chance  and  Mischance.     By  ANNIE  E.  ARMSTRONG. 

With  6  full-page  Illustrations  by  W.   PARKINSON.     Crown 

8vo,  $1.25. 

"Among  many  good  stories  for  girls  this  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the 
very  best."—  Teachers'  Aid. 

A  NEWNHAM    FRIENDSHIP 

By  ALICE  STRONACH.  With  6  Illustrations  by  HAROLD  COPPING. 
Crown  8vo,  $1.25. 

A  description  of  life  at  Newnham  College.  Men  students  play  their 
part  in  the  story,  and  the  closing  chapters  describe  the  work  of  some 
of  tlie  girls  as  "  social  settlers  "  in  the  east  of  London. 

THE   LADY  ISOBEL 

A  Story  for  Girls.  By  ELIZA  F.  POLLARD.  With  4  Illustra- 
tions by  W.  FULTON  BROWN.  12mo,  $1.00. 

A  Tale  of  the  Scottish  Covenanters. 

A  GIRL  OF   TO-DAY 

By  ELLINOR  DAVENPORT  ADAMS.  With  6  page  Illustrations  by 
GERTRUDE  DEMAIN  HAMMOND,  R.I.  Crown  8vo,  $1.25. 

The  boys  and  girls  of  Woodend  band  themselves  together,  and  that 
they  have  plenty  of  fun  is  seen  in  the  shopping  expedition  to  purchase 
stores  for  their  society,  and  in  the  successful  Christmas  entertainment. 
Max  Brenton's  fight  with  Joe  Baker,  the  bully,  shows  that  their  work 
has  its  serious  side  as  well. 

CYNTHIA'S  BONNET  SHOP 

By  ROSA  MULHOLLAND  (Lady  Gilbert).  With  8  Illustrations  by 
C.  D.  HAMMOND,  R.I.  Crown  8vo,  olivine  edges,  $1.50. 

Cynthia,  one  of  three  charming,  lively  sisters  of  an  impoverished 
Connaught  family,  desires  to  make  money  for  the  sake  of  her  delicate 
mother.  If  she  had  only  capital  she  would  open  a  millinery  establish- 
ment in  London.  The  capital  is  mysteriously  supplied,  and  the  secret 
of  the  unknown  benefactor  is  kept  to  the  end. 


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GOOD  BOOKS  FOR  GIRLS 


BY   ETHEL   F.   MEDDLE 

A  MYSTERY  OF  ST.   RULES 

$1.50. 

An  absorbing  novel  for  girls,  the  action  of  which  revolves  round  the 
mystery  of  a  stolen  diamond,  but  is  full  of  delightful  character 
sketches,  and  the  background  of  the  gray  old  city  is  charmingly  filled 
in.  The  mystery  is  well  maintained,  and  the  love  interest  is  strong 
to  the  end. 

AN  ORIGINAL  GIRL 

Illustrated.     12mo,  $1.50. 

A  tale  of  London  and  English  country  life.  The  author  is  a  favorite 
writer  for  girls,  whose  previous  books  have  been  unusually  popular. 


THINGS  WILL  TAKE  A  TURN 

By  BEATRICE  HARRADEN,  Author  of  "Ships  that  Pass  in  the 
Night."  Illustrated.  12mo,  $1.00. 

It  is  the  story  of  a  sunny-hearted  child,  Rosebud,  who  assists  her 
grandfather  in  his  dusty,  second-hand  bookshop. 

LAUGH  AND  LEARN 

The  Easiest  Book  of  Nursery  Lessons  and  Nursery  Games.  By 
JENNETT  HUMPHREYS.  Charmingly  Illustrated.  Square 
8vo,  $1.25. 

"One  of  the  best  books  of  the  kind  imaginable,  full  of  practical 
teachings  in  word  and  picture,  and  helping  the  little  ones  pleasantly 
along  a  right  royal  road  to  learning." — Graphic. 

ADVENTURES  IN  TOYLAND 

By  EDITH  KING  HALL.  With  8  Colored  Plates  and  72  other 
Illustrations  by  ALICE  B.  WOODWARD.  Square  8vo,  $2.00. 

The  story  of  what  a  little  girl  heard  and  saw  in  a  toy  shop. 

NELL'S    SCHOOL    DAYS 

A  Story  of  Town  and  Country.  By  H.  P.  GETHEN.  With  4 
Illustrations,  $1.00. 

VIOLET   VEREKER'S  VANITY 

By  ANNIE  E.  ARMSTRONG.  With  6  Illustrations  by  G.  D.  HAM- 
MOND. Crown  8vo,  $1.25. 


BOOKS  FOR  YOUNG    PEOPLE 


GOOD  BOOKS  FOR  GIRLS 


BY  ALICE   CORKRAN 
DOWN  THE  SNOW  STAIRS 

Or,  From  Good-night  to  Good-morning.  With  character  Illus- 
trations by  GORDON  BROWNE.  Square  crown  8vo,  olivine 
edges,  $1.25. 

"  A  gem  of  the  first  water,  bearing  upon  every  one  of  its  pages  the 
signet  mark  of  genius.  .  .  .  All  is  told  with  such  simplicity  and 
perfect  naturalness  that  the  dream  appears  to  be  a  solid  reality.  It  is 
indeed  a  little  Pilgrim's  Progress." — Christian  Leader. 

MARGERY  MERTON'S  GIRLHOOD 

With  6  full-page  Illustrations  by  GORDON  BROWNE.  Crown 
8vo,  $1.25. 

The  experience  of  an  orphan  girl  who  in  infancy  is  left  by  her  father, 
an  officer  in  India,  to  the  care  of  an  elderly  aunt  residing  near  Paris. 


A  VERY  ODD   GIRL 

Life  at  the  Gabled  Farm.     By  ANNIE  E.  ARMSTRONG.    With  6 
full-page  Illustrations  by  S.  T.  DADD.     Crown,  $1.25. 

HER    FRIEND    AND    MINE 

A  Story  of  Two  Sisters.     By  FLORENCE  COOMBE.     With  3 
Illustrations  by  WM.  RAINET.     12mo,  $1.00. 

THE    EAGLE'S    NEST 

By  S.  E.  CARTWRIGHT.     With  3  Illustrations  by  WM.  KAINEY. 
12mo,  $1.00. 

MY    FRIEND    KATHLEEN 

By  JENNIE    CHAPPELL.      With  4  Illustrations   by   JOHN    H. 
BACON.     12mo,  $1.00. 

A    DAUGHTER    OF    ERIN 

By  VIOLET  G.  FINNY.     With  4  Illustrations.     Price,  $1.00. 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

153-7  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELE> 
FORM  NO.  DD67  60m,  1/83         BERKELEY,  CA  94720 


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